Ukraine grants Poland permission for search operations near Huta Pieniacka
Ukraine's Ministry of Culture has granted permission to conduct search operations in the area of the former village of Huta Pieniacka, now located within the boundaries of the villages of Zharkiv and Holubytsia in the Lviv region.
According to the ministry, the decision was made after reviewing an application submitted on February 16, 2026.
The work concerns the search for and localization of burial sites of village residents who were killed during World War II.
The decision is based on agreements reached by the Ukrainian-Polish working group on historical memory. These agreements were recorded in a joint communique following the group's work in 2025 and were reaffirmed during a meeting between Presidents Volodymyr Zelensky and Karol Nawrocki in Warsaw on December 19, 2025.
The search operations will be carried out by a joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition.
Specialists will attempt to determine the exact burial locations. If remains are discovered, the work will proceed in the format of exhumation followed by reburial.
The ministry also noted that in 2026 Ukraine and Poland plan to conduct additional research projects on the territories of both countries.
At the end of 2025, the ministry had already granted permits for search operations in the villages of Ostrivky and Volia Ostrovetska in the Volyn region, as well as for the continuation of research in the area of the former village of Puzhnyky in the Ternopil region.
In spring 2026, work is planned in the village of Uhly in the Rivne region, along with the continuation of Ukrainian research in Poland.
The ministry emphasized the importance of honoring the victims with dignity and preserving their memory.
In October 2025, Kyiv granted Warsaw permission to conduct search and exhumation work in the village of Uhly in the Rivne region.
Archival photo: gov.pl