Ukrainian, Polish Experts Exhume 6 Remains from Volyn Mass Grave
Updated
Updated · Ukrinform · Jul 30
Ukrainian, Polish Experts Exhume 6 Remains from Volyn Mass Grave
1 articles · Updated · Ukrinform · Jul 30
Summary
Six sets of remains were recovered from a 2-by-3-meter mass grave in Ostrivky, capping exhumation work at the former Volyn village, archaeologist Yaroslav Onyshchuk said.
Artifacts found with the dead—Roman Catholic medallions, buttons, beads, a pocket knife, and men's and women's shoes—may aid identification after anthropologists begin DNA sampling next week.
The Ostrivky grave was discovered in April and marks the final exhumation stage in that area, where experts had already recovered 48 remains from Volia Ostrovetska and one body from a separate forest grave.
Ukrainian and Polish teams will keep working in the former villages until August 7, while parallel searches near Volia Ostrovetska have so far found no additional graves.
The exhumed remains are due to be reburied in a local cemetery at the end of summer, as the joint effort shifts from excavation to identification.
Can advanced DNA sampling eight decades later finally bring closure and a true identity to the nameless victims of the Volyn forest?
What secrets do the Roman Catholic medallions and mechanical bone trauma reveal about the brutal 1943 Volhynia massacres?
With multiple future search applications stalled, will unresolved historical grievances threaten the crucial diplomatic ties between Ukraine and Poland?