Poland and Ukraine rebury 55 Volhynia massacre victims in Ostrowki on 83rd anniversary

Reburial ceremony in Ostrowki

On 30 August 2026 at 12:00 local time, Polish and Ukrainian officials gathered at the former Polish village of Ostrowki in north-western Ukraine to rebury 55 Polish victims of the Volhynia massacres. The ecumenical funeral service at the old Polish cemetery was led by Bishop Vitaliy Skomarovskyi, head of the Ukrainian Episcopal Conference and bishop of the Lutsk Roman Catholic Diocese, alongside Catholic and Orthodox clergy. The 55 sets of remains were placed into one of two existing mass graves, established after earlier exhumation rounds in 1992, 2011, and 2015, situated to the left of a commemorative cross unveiled in 2011. Attendees included victim families, Polish Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Piotr Zgorzelski, Culture Minister Marta Cienkowska, former Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, and Ukrainian Deputy Culture Minister Ivan Verbytskyi.

Exhumation results across three sites

The reburied remains were recovered during archaeological field operations conducted between 13 July and 7 August 2026. Polish specialists explored three distinct burial locations identified during preliminary search operations in April 2026. The excavations included a mass grave near the former school in Ostrowki, a single grave near the local cemetery, and a mass pit on Aleksander Strazyc's former farmstead in Wola Ostrowiecka. At the Strazyc farmstead, excavators uncovered 48 individuals, including 24 children, 17 women, three men, and four individuals whose sex could not be determined during initial examinations due to skeletal degradation. The majority of the children were under 12 years of age, with the youngest aged several months.

Official addresses from Polish and Ukrainian delegations

During the ceremony, Polish officials emphasized the importance of concluding ongoing search and burial efforts across the region. Polish Institute of National Remembrance deputy head Karol Polejowski noted that archival documentation matches the high proportion of women and children recovered from the burial pits. In a letter read by his social adviser and Mayor of Chelm Jakub Banaszek, Polish President Karol Nawrocki described how victims in 1943 were assembled at village schools and killed in small groups with axes, blunt tools, and firearms.

We will never forget those who died in agony simply because they were Poles. We will not cease our efforts to ensure that all our compatriots murdered by members of the OUN-UPA are properly buried and commemorated.

Ukrainian Deputy Culture Minister Ivan Verbytskyi addressed the joint gathering to reflect on bilateral historical remembrance.

The Volhynia tragedy is a difficult, sad, and tragic part of our history. For us, it is important to remember these events, as this is a lesson for the future.

Diplomatic relations and future excavation permits

Between 1943 and 1945, attacks across Volhynia and Eastern Galicia caused between 60,000 and 100,000 Polish civilian deaths, while casualties in Ostrowki and Wola Ostrowiecka totaled between 1,050 and 1,200 people. Head of the Sejm Foreign Affairs Committee Pawel Kowal attended the ceremony with a commemorative wreath from Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk. Relatives of victims, including Jozef Obcarski whose grandparents died in the massacre, noted that establishing burials is vital for families while sustaining neighbourly relations with Ukraine. Polish authorities also noted Ukraine's permit issued on 18 August 2026 to begin exhumations at Huta Pieniacka, where approximately 850 residents died during the Second World War.