Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance (UINP) Oleksandr Alforov stated that Kyiv recognizes the Volyn tragedy, and the issue of searching for and exhuming victims must remain an important element of the historical dialogue between Ukraine and Poland.
"This is direct proof that the Ukrainian side recognizes the existence of the Volyn tragedy," Alforov said in an interview with the Polish Press Agency (PAP).
According to him, permits for conducting exhumations will continue to be issued. He emphasized that over the past year and a half, the greatest progress in many years has been achieved in the field of searching for and investigating burial sites.
Commenting on Poland’s marking of the National Day of Remembrance of the Victims of the Volyn Tragedy on July 11, Alforov reported that church services for the victims of the tragic events of 1939–1947 – both Poles and Ukrainians – are traditionally held in Ukraine. According to him, this year such events will take place in Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Greek Catholic churches. The head of the UINP also emphasized that Ukraine honors the victims of the Katyn massacre and Operation Vistula.
Commenting on the controversies surrounding the figure of Stepan Bandera and the National Pantheon of Ukraine, Alforov stated that historical issues should remain the domain of professional historians, not political discussions. "The task of historians is to research facts and sources and to present scientific conclusions," he said.
According to the head of the UINP, Polish expeditions have already conducted search operations in Ukraine. Currently, the parties are awaiting the start of exhumation works. "Regardless of the existing disputes, these works must continue. Stopping searches and exhumations will not contribute to either dialogue or mutual understanding between the nations," he emphasized.
Alforov also expressed hope that this year Ukraine will be able to begin search, and possibly exhumation, works in the settlements of Sahryn or Laskiv on the territory of Poland after receiving the relevant permits from the Polish side.
As reported earlier, on July 11, Polish Minister of National Defence Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz arrived on a visit to Ukraine and on Saturday attended a church service in the village of Olyka, Lutsk district, Volyn region, in memory of the Poles killed during the Second World War. "Memory is our duty. Truth is the foundation of reconciliation!" he wrote on the X social network.
