IPN uncovers first mass grave from 1944 Huta Pieniacka massacre in Ukraine
On the fourth day of excavation near the former church in Huta Pieniacka, Ukraine, specialists from Poland's Institute of National Remembrance discovered the first human remains — partially burned — believed to be a mass burial of Polish civilians murdered in February 1944.
Ongoing search
Specialists from the IPN's Bureau of Search and Identification began fieldwork at the site of the former Polish village of Huta Pieniacka in western Ukraine on 9 June 2026. The search area is near the existing memorial and the former location of the village church. On the first day approximately 70 square metres were examined. By the third day, 11 June, researchers had uncovered the outline of the church foundations.
Discovery
On 12 June, the fourth day of work, a pit containing human remains was found close to the exposed temple foundations. IPN issued a statement calling it the first grave at the site.
On the fourth day of fieldwork in Huta Pieniacka, near the church foundations uncovered the day before, we discovered the first remains of the murdered. We assume this is a mass burial. The early stage does not yet allow the total area of the pit to be determined. Human remains, partially burned, have been revealed.
Father Tomasz Trzaska, from the IPN's search bureau, told the Polish Press Agency that only a small fragment of the pit had been exposed. "So far we have exposed remains of several people, but it is only a few dozen centimetres of the edge of the grave pit, about 30–40 cm, maybe half a square metre," he said. Some bones bore burn marks, reinforcing the assumption of a mass grave.
The 1944 massacre
Huta Pieniacka, then in Poland's Tarnopol Voivodeship, was the scene of a mass killing on 28 February 1944. At least 850 Polish civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, were murdered by Ukrainian soldiers of the 4th Galician SS Volunteer Police Regiment, drawn from the 14th Waffen SS Division "Galizien" under German command, supported by units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and a paramilitary formation led by Włodzimierz Czerniawski. Survivors later buried the dead in a mass grave. One, Filomena Franczukowska, recalled in a preserved account:
They led us to the church, which was about fifty metres from our house. The church doors were closed when they brought us there. A ten-year-old girl, Stefa Biniewicz, from across the street was shot in the legs.
Permit and cooperation
Ukraine granted permission for the search on 18 February 2026, ending nearly seven years of IPN efforts. The decision followed the December 2025 meeting of the Polish and Ukrainian presidents. Earlier, on 30 December 2025, the Institute had received consent to work in Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka in Volhynia Oblast. The Huta Pieniacka fieldwork, scheduled from 9 to 18 June, is conducted with Ukraine's "Wołyńskie Starożytności" enterprise and involves the Polish Ministry of Culture and the Huta Pieniacka Association.
- Search work begins; approximately 70 m² examined.
- Outline of the church foundations uncovered.
- First human remains found; partially burned mass grave confirmed.
After locating and documenting the mass graves, the IPN intends to apply to Ukrainian authorities for exhumation and proper burial of the victims.
- IPN receives permission for searches in Ostrówki and Wola Ostrowiecka.
- Ukraine grants consent for Huta Pieniacka exhumation after near seven-year wait.
- Fieldwork starts at Huta Pieniacka.
- First mass grave discovery announced.
