Ukraine approves exhumations of Polish Volhynia massacre victims at Huta Pieniacka and Uhly
Ukraine's State Interagency Commission approved exhumations and DNA sampling at three sites tied to the wartime Volhynia massacre, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory announced on 8 August.
Ukrainian commission grants three approvals
On Friday, 7 August, Ukraine's State Interagency Commission for the Commemoration of Participants of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, Victims of War and Political Repression convened and approved three separate decisions concerning Polish victims of wartime massacres. The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory (UINP) announced the approvals on Saturday, 8 August, in a statement published on Facebook. All three decisions were framed as implementation of agreements reached by the Ukrainian-Polish Working Group on National Memory.
The first approval grants permission for exhumation research at the site of the former village of Huta Pieniacka in the Lviv region.
Within the framework of implementing the arrangements reached by the Ukrainian-Polish Working Group on National Memory, the commission expressed consent for conducting exhumation research on the territory of the former village of Huta Pieniacka.
The second decision covers search and exhumation work in the village of Uhly, located in the Sarny municipality of the Rivne region's Sarny district. The work targets burials of individuals who died or went missing without trace during World War II, and was described as part of efforts to preserve sites of memory of the Polish nation in Ukraine. In a third, separate decision, the commission authorized the collection of DNA genetic material samples from remains buried between 1992 and 2015 at the cemetery of the former village of Ostrovki.
Historical background of the massacre sites
The Volhynia massacre took place between 1943 and 1945. During that period, Ukrainian nationalists from the OUN and UPA murdered between 80,000 and 120,000 Poles, as well as Jews among others. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to flee their homes.
The massacre at Huta Pieniacka was one of the largest single atrocities during this period. On 28 February 1944, Ukrainian policemen from a battalion of the 4th SS Police Regiment under German command, together with a local unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army and a paramilitary unit composed of Ukrainian nationalists, killed approximately 850 people.
- Massacre at Huta Pieniacka: approximately 850 people killed
- Polish Sejm passes resolution commemorating Volhynia victims, 441 MPs in support
- Ukrainian interagency commission approves exhumations and DNA sampling
- UINP publicly announces the approved decisions on Facebook
- IPN plans to start exhumations at Hołosko Wielkie in Lviv
- New searches set to begin in Puźniki
Polish parliament commemorates victims
In July, the Polish Sejm passed a resolution by acclamation commemorating the victims of the Volhynia massacre, with 441 MPs expressing support. The document paid tribute to victims in the Eastern Borderlands and also acknowledged Ukrainians who risked their lives to save their Polish neighbors. The resolution stressed the importance of ongoing searches, exhumations, and ensuring dignified burials for the victims.
Ongoing and upcoming search operations
Search and exhumation work had already been conducted earlier in 2026 at both Huta Pieniacka and Uhly. Progress on these efforts was discussed at a recent meeting of the Polish-Ukrainian Working Group on Dignified Burials.
Further operations are scheduled in the coming weeks. At the turn of August and September, new searches are set to begin in Puźniki. By the end of August, Poland's Institute of National Remembrance (IPN) plans to commence exhumations at Hołosko Wielkie in Lviv, where soldiers of the Polish Army killed in 1939 are buried.
