Ukrainian Expedition Searches for Ukrainian Insurgent Army Graves in Poland
A Ukrainian expedition from Lviv has begun search and exhumation work in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland to locate and investigate the possible burial site of soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army from 1947.
The Gaze reports on it, referring to Radio Svoboda.
A Ukrainian expedition from the Dolya Memorial and Search Center in Lviv has begun search and exhumation work in Poland, in the village of Yurechkovo in the Podkarpackie Voivodeship.
The aim of the research is to identify the possible burial sites of up to 18 soldiers of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) who died in battle with the Polish People's Army on March 4, 1947. Ukrainian experts note that the UPA soldiers were defending the civilian population from forced deportation.
The site of the possible burial was previously marked with a metal cross. Details of the transfer of the bodies of the deceased UPA soldiers remain unknown: it is not clear whether they were transported by carts and by whom.
Before World War II, the village of Yurechkiv belonged to the Dobromyl district of the Lviv province and had a predominantly Ukrainian Greek Catholic population. In September 1939, the village became part of the USSR, and after 1945 it ended up within the borders of Poland.
After the war, local Ukrainians were subjected to forced resettlement, in particular during Operation Vistula in April 1947, when they were evicted to the western and northern territories of Poland. The UPA tried to counteract these actions by protecting the Ukrainian population.
“Starting in April 1947, the Ukrainian population was evicted from Yurechkov during Operation Vistula to western and northern Poland. The forced deportation was the result of agreements between the Soviet and Polish communist authorities,” the statement said.
As The Gaze reported earlier, during search and exhumation work on the territory of the former village of Stari Zboishcha (now part of the city of Lviv), a burial pit with the remains of soldiers who died in World War II was discovered.