Ukraine, Poland begin search operations in Huta Peniatska area, Lviv region, June 8
Joint Ukrainian-Polish search operations will begin on June 8 in the Lviv region on the site of the former village of Huta Peniatska (now part of the Pidkamin settlement community in the Zolochiv district).
According to Ukrinform, this was announced by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine.
The goal of the search operations is to locate the burial sites of the village residents who tragically perished in February 1944. The work will continue until June 19, 2026.
During the search operations, surveys will be conducted of areas where burials are likely to be located. If remains are discovered, the results of the search will serve as the basis for further exhumations.
The research will be conducted by a joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition comprising the LLC “Specialized Institution ‘Volyn Antiquities’” and specialists from the Institute of National Remembrance of the Republic of Poland.
The work will be subject to proper professional supervision by Ukrainian experts with the support and funding of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance.
The Ministry of Culture granted permission to conduct such search operations in February 2026 in accordance with the agreements of the Ukrainian-Polish Working Group on Historical Memory.
These agreements are recorded in a joint communiqué summarizing the work in 2025 and were reaffirmed during a meeting between the Presidents of Ukraine and Poland, Volodymyr Zelensky and Karol Nawrocki, on December 19, 2025, in Warsaw.
Ukraine continues to adhere step by step to the agreements reached, and as of today, Ukrainian government authorities have issued all the permits provided for in the aforementioned agreements.
Huta Peniatska is a former village in the Lviv region, known since the 18th century. During the 1920s and 1930s, Huta Peniatska belonged to the Brody County of the Ternopil Voivodeship of the Republic of Poland. At that time, the village was predominantly inhabited by members of the Polish ethnic group.
On February 28, 1944, Huta Peniatska was subjected to an armed attack. According to archival sources, the attack on the village was carried out by a unit of the German police. A significant portion of Huta Peniatska’s residents were tragically killed, and the village was burned to the ground. The exact number of Huta Peniatska residents who fell victim to the tragedy in February 1944 is unknown. After its destruction, Huta Peniatska was not rebuilt.
As reported by Ukrinform, the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has granted permission to conduct search operations in the area of the former village of Huta Peniatska—now within the villages of Zharkiv and Holubytsia in Lviv region.
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