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5d ago

Poland Reburies 42 Wartime Victims in Western Ukraine in Gesture Toward Reconciliation

Polish leaders cast the ceremony as momentum for wider exhumations despite lingering disputes over how to characterize the 1940s killings.

People attend a mass burial ceremony of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II, in the former Polish village of Puznyky, in Ternopil region, Ukraine September 6, 2025. Last year Ukraine granted Poland access to the sites in the West part of the country, once part of Poland, to carry out joint search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims. REUTERS/Anastasiia Smolienko
Coffins with remains of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II are seen during a mass burial ceremony, in the former Polish village of Puznyky, in Ternopil region, Ukraine September 6, 2025. Last year Ukraine granted Poland access to the sites in the West part of the country, once part of Poland, to carry out joint search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims. REUTERS/Anastasiia Smolienko
Wreath and candles lie at the site of a mass burial ceremony of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II in the former Polish village of Puznyky, in Ternopil region, Ukraine September 6, 2025. Last year Ukraine granted Poland access to the sites in the West part of the country, once part of Poland, to carry out joint search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims. REUTERS/Anastasiia Smolienko
A priest conducts a mass burial ceremony of Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists during World War II, in the former Polish village of Puznyky, in Ternopil region, Ukraine September 6, 2025. Last year Ukraine granted Poland access to the sites in the West part of the country, once part of Poland, to carry out joint search and exhumation of the remains of Polish victims. REUTERS/Anastasiia Smolienko

Overview

  • Officials from Poland and Ukraine attended Saturday’s burial in Puzniki as a conciliatory step in strained relations.
  • Forty-two remains were laid to rest in simple wooden coffins marked with crosses in a long grave, with Polish Catholic priests presiding.
  • Poland received permission earlier this year to exhume remains in the former village after pressing Kyiv for access.
  • Around 20 specialists carried out the exhumations to identify victims, and Warsaw is urging authorization for further searches.
  • The killings are widely attributed to the Ukrainian Insurgent Army during the Volhynia massacres, a narrative Ukraine disputes, including Poland’s use of the term genocide.