“The Ministry of Culture of Ukraine has issued final approval for search works in Huta Pieniacka,” the Institute of National Remembrance announced on Wednesday. As stated in the communiqué, “the decision of the Ukrainian authorities concludes nearly seven years of efforts by the Institute to obtain permission to search for the graves of victims of the crime committed 82 years ago, the anniversary of which falls in a few days.” The matter was commented on by the spokesperson for the President of Poland, Rafał Leśkiewicz, who recalled the December meeting between Karol Nawrocki and his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelensky.
According to the IPN, the aforementioned approval for search works was issued based on an application submitted by the Institute of National Remembrance’s Ukrainian partner, the enterprise “Volhynian Antiquities.” The decision was preceded by the approval, on 17 October 2025, by the Lviv Regional State Administration of the search work program presented to it, the Polish institute noted.
The communiqué further states that the IPN’s actions were undertaken in close cooperation with the victims’ families associated with the Huta Pieniacka Association, with particular involvement from the Association’s president, Małgorzata Gośniowska-Kola.
“For years, the IPN has been making efforts to obtain the appropriate permissions from the Ukrainian authorities to commence search and exhumation works on the territory of Ukraine. The procedure for submitting applications in this regard has remained unchanged for years. First, it is necessary to determine in advance the locations where the victims’ remains may be found. Subsequently, actions are undertaken to obtain consent to carry out exhumation works,”
the Institute explained.
A Result of Nawrocki’s Meeting?
The IPN notes that this is the second approval for conducting search works that the Institute of National Remembrance has received from the Ukrainian authorities following the meeting of the Presidents of Poland and Ukraine held on 19 December 2025 in Warsaw. On 30 December 2025, the IPN obtained permission to conduct search works in the villages of Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka in the Volhynian region, it recalled.
The decision was commented on by Rafał Leśkiewicz, spokesperson for President Karol Nawrocki. “Tangible results of the December meeting between the President of the Republic of Poland, Karol Nawrocki, and the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, in Warsaw,” he wrote on X.
“The issue of the Ukrainian authorities granting permission to commence search and exhumation works for the Victims of the Volhynia Massacre was one of the main topics of discussion between the two presidents,”
he emphasized.
Wymierne efekty grudniowego spotkania Prezydenta RP Karola Nawrockiego z Prezydentem Ukrainy Wołodymyrem Zełenskim w Warszawie.
— Rafał Leśkiewicz (@LeskiewiczRafa) February 18, 2026
Sprawa wydania przez władze Ukrainy zgód na rozpoczęcie prac poszukiwawczych i ekshumacyjnych Ofiar Zbrodni Wołyńskiej była jednym z głównych tematów… https://t.co/lVeB0kmMEV
Pacification in Huta Pieniacka
On 28 February 1944, a pacification operation against the Polish civilian population took place in Huta Pieniacka, resulting in the deaths of approximately 850 people. According to the IPN’s investigation, the pacification was carried out by Ukrainian soldiers of the 4th Police Regiment of the 14th SS Division “Galizien,” together with a local unit of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and a paramilitary unit composed of Ukrainian nationalists, the IPN recalls.