Exhumations on both sides of the border: Ukraine and Poland exchange lists of sites
Kyiv • UNN
Ukraine and Poland have exchanged requests for search and exhumation work on the territories of both countries.
Ukraine and Poland have exchanged lists of places to search for and exhume the remains of "mutual historical conflicts," Andriy Najos, Ukraine's deputy culture minister for European integration, told PAP, UNN reports.
Najos, who chairs the Polish-Ukrainian working group on historical issues on the Ukrainian side, assured on Saturday of positive intentions to resolve disputes related to this topic.
"We are confident of reaching good solutions that will satisfy Polish and Ukrainian society," he said.
Deputy Minister Najos said in an interview with PAP that Ukraine perceives Poland as a very important strategic partner.
"We realize what Polish society lives for, just as Polish society understands the needs of Ukrainian society. We understand that the issues of historical memory are important for Polish society, and we do not want to politicize this. (...) Therefore, in accordance with the agreement between the leaders of both countries (...) bilateral groups have started working," he said.
"We have taken a very important first step: we have exchanged requests from the Polish side to carry out work in Ukraine, and the Polish side has received requests from us to carry out our work in Poland. These requests are currently being analyzed and documents are being collected in order to make positive decisions and publicly comment on the results of such work with the consent of both parties," Najos emphasized.
Another Ukrainian official, who wished to remain anonymous, told PAP that Ukraine has authorized the search for remains at the site where Polish graves were discovered in 2023. "In Ukraine, in accordance with Ukrainian law, permission has been granted to exhume the remains found during the search operations in 2023," the source told PAP.
According to the PAP source, "the issue of restoring the names of Ukrainians (UPA members) on the tombstone on Mount Monastyr (in Poland) remains open.
According to the official, permits for searches and exhumations in Ukraine will be issued separately for each burial site.
"There is Ukrainian legislation that provides that permits have been and will be issued for work in specific locations after review of duly executed documents by companies that have the right to perform the relevant work," he said.
Addendum
In November 2024, Polish and Ukrainian Foreign Ministers Radoslaw Sikorski and Andriy Sybiga announced the decision to lift the "moratorium" on the search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims of the Volyn tragedy, which had been in effect since 2017, the publication notes.
