55 remains found as Ukraine and Poland complete Volyn exhumations
Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance
Ukrainian and Polish teams have completed exhumations
at two former villages in Volyn Oblast, uncovering the remains of 55 people
believed to have died during World War II, the Ukrainian Institute of National
Remembrance and Poland’s Institute of National Remembrance said on Aug. 7.
From July 13 to Aug. 7, specialists from the Ukrainian firm Volyn Antiquities LLC worked with colleagues from the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and Wrocław Medical University at the sites of the former villages Volia Ostrovecka and Ostrivky. Teams found 48 sets of remains at Volia Ostrovecka and six at Ostrivky. An additional set of remains was discovered near the Ostrivky cemetery opposite a memorial; experts are still establishing the date of that burial.
Those exhumed include men, women, and children. Specialists collected samples for DNA testing; Polish experts are currently taking biomaterial for DNA analyses, public broadcaster Suspilne reported. Tomasz Tshaska of the Polish Institute of National Remembrance said genetic material is taken from each set of remains, all work is documented with photos and video, and samples are sealed in sterile packaging and sent to laboratories for study.
Yaroslav Onyshchuk, a historian at Lviv National University,
said most of the remains likely belong to Polish residents, citing personal
items found with the bodies, including Roman Catholic icons and crosses. He
said some victims may have been Orthodox. Onyshchuk added that Ukrainian
villages in the area also suffered during the same period; he cited Perykirky,
about 2 kilometers from Volia Ostrovecka, which was reportedly burned, and
named other affected villages such as Rivne, Polapy, and Sokil. He said Ukrainian
burial sites in surrounding villages have not yet been excavated and urged that
searches and reburials of Ukrainian victims also be prioritized.
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