New Phase Of Search Operations Begins In Puzhnyky, Ternopil Region

(MENAFN- UkrinForm) An Ukrinform correspondent reports this.

A Ukrainian-Polish expedition has arrived at the site of the old cemetery, where organizational preparations are underway. The joint expedition comprises seven specialists. Four bomb disposal experts are surveying the area designated for the search operations.

“Today, we are checking an area of approximately 3,000 square meters for explosive ordnance. These are primarily items dating back to World War I and World War II. The work is expected to take approximately four to five hours,” said Oleksandr Osadchyi, head of the pyrotechnic operations unit and a lieutenant in the Civil Protection Service.

The Ukrainian team in Puzhnyky includes search specialists from the Volyn Antiquities specialized institution, while the Polish team comprises experts from the Pomeranian Medical University in Szczecin and representatives of the Freedom and Democracy Foundation.

“We are continuing to search for the old road, as local accounts suggest that another mass burial site may be located nearby. This time, we plan to survey an adjacent plot next to the area where search operations were conducted in September,” said Maciej Dancewicz, vice-president of the Freedom and Democracy Foundation.

The exhumation of the remains of people killed during World War II on the site of the former village of Puzhnyky took place from April 23 to May 5, 2025. The work was carried out by a joint Ukrainian-Polish expedition under the professional and security supervision of the Ukrainian side. The remains of 42 people were found during the exhumation. DNA testing is being conducted in Poland.

Read also: More than 40 sets of World War II remains exhumed in Mlyniv, Rivne region

In September, a reburial ceremony was held in the Ternopil region for the remains discovered during the search operations in Puzhnyky. Representatives of the Ukrainian and Polish authorities and around 40 descendants of former residents of the village attended the ceremony.

In Warsaw, the exhumations conducted in Puzhnyky, Ternopil region, in late April and early May this year were described as a“breakthrough” in Polish-Ukrainian relations.

In December 2025, the Polish side received another approval to conduct the second phase of search operations in Puzhnyky, Ternopil region.

On September 1 this year, Ukrainian and Polish specialists resumed search operations in Puzhnyky, Ternopil region. However, they failed to find a mass burial site.

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