The bodies of men, women and children were found in the village of Puźniki, in western Ukraine, where Polish and Ukrainian teams have been conducting excavations, according to a joint statement by Poland’s Ministry of Culture, the Freedom and Democracy Foundation, the Pomeranian Medical University, and the Institute of National Remembrance (IPN).
Researchers said that final identification - including age, sex, and total number of victims - will follow laboratory analysis.
The recovery marks the completion of exhumation efforts in the former village of Puźniki, located in Ukraine’s Ternopil region.
Forensic teams are now analyzing the remains to determine the victims' identities, using anthropological testing and 3D scans.
'Historic breakthrough' in Polish-Ukrainian WWII exhumations
Paweł Kowal (Photo: PAP/Darek Delmanowicz)
Paweł Kowal, chairman of the Polish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and head of the Polish-Ukrainian working group on historical dialogue, called the cooperation a "historic breakthrough" after years of diplomatic impasse over access to wartime burial sites.
The politician told state news agency PAP that Warsaw and Kyiv have reached a breakthrough agreement that will ease the process of searching for and identifying the remains of victims of historical conflicts.
According to the official, the understanding comes after "decades of deadlock" and will allow both Polish and Ukrainian families to pursue exhumations and commemorate their relatives with proper burials and crosses through a simplified administrative process.
He described the development as “historic,” noting that for the first time in a decade, exhumation work has resumed and Ukraine has issued several new permits for such efforts.
Paweł Kowal added that in some cases, the precise locations of wartime graves remain unknown. He emphasized that this includes not only victims of the Volhynia massacre but also broader Soviet-era crimes against Poles.
He also praised the ongoing work in the village of Puźniki, in western Ukraine, saying it is being conducted at a high professional and diplomatic standard, with strong cooperation from Ukrainian authorities.
These are the first exhumations since the Ukrainian authorities lifted the ban on searching for and exhuming the remains of Polish war and conflict victims in Ukraine, announced at the end of November 2024. Photo: PAP/Vladyslav Musiienko
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Source: IAR/PAP/MKiDN/X/@kultura_gov_pl/@RadioZagranica