Poland announces completion of exhumation of Volyn tragedy victims

The Polish Institute of National Remembrance announced the completion of exhumation works of victims of the Volyn tragedy in two former villages in Volyn, according to Європейська правда.

The works took place in the villages of Ostrovky and Volya Ostrovetska in Volyn. Employees of the institution "Volyn Antiquities", employees of the Institute of National Remembrance of the Republic of Poland and specialists from the Wrocław Medical University participated in them.

The Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, in turn, secured the participation of search specialists and an anthropologist to oversee the works. It was carried out by the communal enterprise of the Lviv Regional Council "Dolya", which searches for burials of participants in the national liberation struggle, as well as victims of wars, deportations and political repressions.

During exhumation works, conducted from July 13 to August 7, specialists discovered the remains of 55 deceased, including 26 children. The burial sites were determined during a search expedition in April 2026.

In addition to human remains, researchers extracted more than 300 personal items, which may help in further identifying the deceased and studying the circumstances of the tragedy.

After completing the necessary procedures, the remains will be reburied at the cemetery of the former village of Ostrovky.

The next exhumations will most likely take place next year in Huta Pieniacka, where a human burial was discovered in June.

Last year, Ukraine, after a many-year pause, resumed the possibility of conducting search works and exhumations of Polish victims on its territory. Since then, it has exhumed and reburied the victims of the tragic events of the 20th century in Puzhniki, as well as the remains of Polish soldiers who died during the September campaign of 1939.