Ukrainian-Polish expedition begins search work at sites of two former villages in Volyn region

This was reported by the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, according to Ukrinform.

The work is taking place within the Rivne rural territorial community of the Kovel district.

The goal of the expedition is to identify burial sites. If they are found, this will pave the way for further stages of work: exhumation, identification of remains, and their dignified reburial.

“The permit for the Polish side to conduct search work in 2025 was granted by Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture to the specialized institution ‘Volyn Antiquities.’ Polish experts will also take part in the expedition – staff of the Institute of National Remembrance of the Republic of Poland and Wrocław Medical University,” the statement said.

According to the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, it is engaging and funding specialists from the Lviv Regional Council’s municipal enterprise Dolia, which focuses on locating burial sites of participants in national liberation struggles and victims of wars, deportations, and political repression, to supervise the search work.

For their part, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance noted that this is already the fourth stage of work at this site. The first stage took place in 1992, the second in 2011, and the third in 2015. As a result of previous search and exhumation efforts, the remains of 674 individuals buried in the local cemetery were discovered.

The current search operations will continue until May 1. They are being carried out in line with agreements reached by the Ukrainian-Polish working group on historical memory, as well as agreements between the presidents of both countries, and will be accompanied by appropriate security measures and professional oversight by Ukrainian scholars.

Deputy Minister of Culture Ivan Verbytskyi noted that the tragic chapters of the shared 20th-century history remain sensitive for both Poles and Ukrainians.

“At the same time, a consistent and responsible dialogue on these issues is the key to properly honoring the memory of the victims,” he stressed.

The Ministry of Culture recalled that in late August 1943 (according to some sources, on the night of August 28-29, according to others, on August 30), Ostrivky and Volia Ostrovetska were attacked. According to archival sources, the vast majority of residents of both villages were killed, and the settlements themselves were burned down.

The Ukrainian-Polish conflict during World War II remains a tragic chapter in the history of both nations, with civilians on both sides being the main victims.

As previously reported by Ukrinform, search operations were recently completed in Uhly (Rivne region) at a site believed to be a possible burial place of Poles and Ukrainians killed in 1943; no mass grave was found.