Ukrainian Deputy Culture Minister Andrii Nadzhos said on Saturday that numerous personal items had also been recovered, including buttons, coins, shoes and religious crosses.
The remains are being uncovered at a former cemetery near the site of a 1945 massacre of Polish civilians.
The exhumations in Puzhnyky represent a significant step forward in Polish-Ukrainian reconciliation over difficult shared history, according to officials.
A cemetery at Puzhnyky in Ukraine's western Ternopil region. Photo: PAP/Wojtek Jargiło
The process is being closely watched in both countries and seen by many as a test case for how historical justice can be pursued with mutual respect, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
Puzhnyky, now located in Ukraine’s western Ternopil region and formerly known as Puźniki, was the site of an attack by Ukrainian nationalists on the night of February 12–13, 1945.
According to various historical sources, between 50 and 120 ethnic Poles were killed. The massacre occurred during the final months of World War II amid a wave of ethnic violence across the region.
This exhumation marks the first such operation since Ukraine lifted its 2017 ban on Polish-led searches and exhumations of wartime and conflict-related burial sites on Ukrainian territory.
The ban was officially lifted in November 2024, following prolonged negotiations between the two countries.
Poland's top diplomat Radosław Sikorski (right) and his Ukrainian counterpart Andrii Sybiha (left) hold a joint news conference in Warsaw on November 27, 2024. Photo: PAP/Tomasz Gzell
According to Nadzhos, forensic experts are now analysing the remains to determine the sex and age of the deceased.
"There are indeed remains of both men and women, and we have found the remains of several children," he said.
However, he added that no conclusions can yet be drawn about the causes of death, as the work is taking place in an area that had also served as a cemetery before and after the massacre.
Photo: PAP/Artur Reszko
The excavation is expected to conclude within a week, but anthropological and genetic testing will continue.
DNA samples will be taken to support identification efforts.
"The work is proceeding very smoothly, and both teams are cooperating exceptionally well," Nadzhos told reporters.
The exhumation is being coordinated by the Warsaw-based Freedom and Democracy Foundation in cooperation with experts from Poland’s Pomeranian Medical University, the Ukrainian archaeological firm Volyn Antiquities, and Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).
The effort builds on earlier work carried out from May to August 2023, when a mass grave was discovered at the site.
Based on those findings, Ukrainian authorities granted formal permission in January for exhumation to proceed.
Nadzhos expressed hope that a joint final report will emerge from the work.
"Such a report could help depoliticise these processes," he said. "We initiated this effort to allow experts—not politicians—to establish the true scale of the tragedy and investigate the causes of death."
He also suggested that Puzhnyky might be the first of several such joint projects.
"After Puzhnyky, we may begin similar work in other locations," he said. "And in the future, Ukrainian teams may travel to Poland to carry out reciprocal investigations."
The former Polish village of Puźniki in what is now western Ukraine. Photo: Krystian Maj/KPRM
Speaking earlier last week, Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski welcomed the exhumation.
"After years of waiting, exhumations have finally begun in Ukraine,” he said in a radio interview. "We found a formula that avoids bargaining over the dead. Both sides are fulfilling their Christian duty."
(rt/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP