In Ternopil region, the search for the remains of the victims of the 1945 tragedy in Puzhniki has resumed
Kyiv • UNN
Ukrainian and Polish experts are searching for the burial sites of victims in the former Puzhniki. The work will continue until November 10, using scanning technology.
On the site of the former village of Puzhnyky in Ternopil Oblast, a new stage of search operations for the remains of residents who died began on November 4. The work was prompted by testimony from an eyewitness who indicated a possible burial site between the church and the cemetery. The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory reported the start of the research, while the Polish publication RMF24 provides new details of the search, UNN writes.
Details
Maciej Dancewicz, a representative of the Polish foundation Freedom and Democracy, said that researchers had received testimony from a woman who was ten years old at the time of the tragedy. She lived in Puzhnyky and remembers how the dead were transported and buried.
"In her view, the pit should be between the church and the cemetery. This is an area that we have not yet investigated," Dancewicz explained.
According to the witness, she saw carts or sleighs carrying people stop at this particular site.
The researchers also obtained permission from the military to scan the area using special electronic equipment, which should help identify possible burial sites.
The new stage of the research will continue from November 4 to 10.
The work is being carried out by the specialized institution Volyn Antiquities, with the participation of specialists from the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin, representatives of the Freedom and Democracy foundation, and the Institute of National Remembrance of Poland.
For professional supervision and consultation, the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory engaged specialists from the Ivano-Frankivsk municipal enterprise Memory.
The research is being conducted as part of agreements reached by the Ukrainian-Polish working group on dignified burials.