In late autumn 1946, the UPA 'Chrin' sotnya captured the watchtower of the Polish Border Protection Forces WOP, brutally murdering its commander, his fiancée and several soldiers. The authors of the publication write:
„During the archival query we came across a very unusual oral account of 'Krylaty', a member of the 'Chrina' sotnia, recorded on an audio tape.
Mykhailo Svityj 'Krylaty' was an unusual sample of a Bandera man: this man had problems with empathy, the scenes of beatings, torture and killing were unbearable for him. If he were an ordinary Ukrainian village boy, an ordinary shooter, it could have ended tragically for him. But 'Kryłatyj' was an outstanding asset and the only specialist of this format in mines, explosives, all weapons and motor vehicles. In short — an irreplaceable 'handyman'. That is why his — ineffective — attempts to intervene in defense of the victims were tolerated, and accepted when he walked aside, so as not to see the bodies battered with fire and iron, so as not to hear pleas for mercy, screams of terror and pain, and deathly howls.
In addition to the cruel abuse of UPA deserters, 'Kryłatyj' recalled two situations that he would remember forever — the execution of soldiers from Jasiel and the capture of the WOP watchtower in Barwinek, where 'Chrin' promised Polish soldiers to spare their lives if they surrendered, and then he broke his word and the Dantesque scenes of sadistic torture began. He remembered the sight of a wounded Polish soldier, «with his arms spread out like a crucified Christ», being finished off.
As we have not been able to find any logically cohesive information in the Polish archives, this issue would never have become the topic of this text if it had not been for the testimony of the Slovak soldier Juraj Chyra — discovered also by accident.
Well, Slovak soldiers, including Juraj Chyra, came to the crime scene in the WOP watchtower in Barwinek right after the crime of 'Chrin' sotnya. It was he and his friends who untied the tied, tortured naked human remains and covered them with blankets. This hell was probably not documented by any prosecutor, no one made a photographic record of 'Chrin's' bestiality. At this stage of research, we must be satisfied with the description made by the Slovak Juraj Chyra:
«While in this area, I experienced one of the most terrible events of my life. Concerns the commander of the Polish unit in Barwinek. A lieutenant and others. I wish his name had stayed in my memory. This officer at that time was supposed to have a wedding and a wedding reception. We also got acquainted with his fiancée. After all, she had been with him many times. Also during our visits. To celebrate this important step in life, he invited more guests from our side. We were preparing for the wedding with joy and we were preparing gifts for the future spouses.
The lieutenant's wedding was to be held in Barwinek, in the local military barracks [the author is referring to the WOP watchtower]. The fiancé has made an appointment for Thursday afternoon. I don't remember its exact date anymore. It seems to me that it has already been a cool autumn day. That day, we especially cared about our appearance. Everyone was shaved, perfumed, and their uniforms ironed. We were just waiting for the means of transport to take us to the agreed place.
While waiting, breathless liaisons from Barwinek suddenly come running. In one breath they burst out:
‹We were attacked by the Bandera followers. The commander and his fiancée are dead, as well as several soldiers. Send your people immediately›.
Such news took our breath away. At that moment our blood froze in our veins. It was horrible. You are getting ready for dancing, great fun, and here you have, instead of it death comes».
The commander issued an alarm, Slovak troops took weapons and ammunition and set off to avenge the Poles.
«We were approaching the one–story building, where the barracks were located in Barwinek, with heavy hearts. After all, each of us was shocked at the loss of such a good man and his future wife.
As soon as we stepped over the fence, we immediately found two dead bodies. They were soldiers of the Polish Army. Probably the sentries they dealt with first. The next bodies were tied to the trees growing nearby. Some were still alive, others had been dead for a long time. A tracking dog was also shot, and one of the soldiers was tied to a tree with a leash. We paid no further attention to the other signs of the violence that had been used. We wanted to enter the building as soon as possible.
What did we see in the commander's room? The lieutenant was completely naked, tied to an armored wardrobe. Probably so that he could not move even a step. His hair was burnt. They must have burned it with paper because there were so many unburned pages around it. His private parts and the rest of the body were charred. It must have been something terrifying that was going on here. The deceased's body was covered in blood and bruised. At the end of this martyrdom procedure, he was shot.
Even for the strongest man, it was too much.
The body of his future mistress also presented a similar sight.
She was also naked and tied to the wardrobe opposite. She too had burnt hair on her head and on other parts of her body. She was also beaten and tortured by these fascist freaks, because her white skin was one big bruise. It was terrible to see this young, mutilated body that could live, give life to the next generations… And here she suffered such a fate…
We freed both bodies from the constrained position, placed them on the floor and covered them with a blanket».
The pursuit of the perpetrators of this crime did not bring any result.
«After hearing out a few of the Polish soldiers who survived, fortunately being in the field during the tragedy, so there were fewer casualties, we came to the conclusion that the Bandera followers had entered the building early in the morning, when the preparations for the wedding feast were just beginning. They appeared suddenly when no one was expecting them. Everyone was busy with their work. If it hadn't been for the preparations for the wedding, perhaps there would have been no tragedy…»”

source: „Was Stepan Stebelski, sotnya leader 'Chrin', a degenerate sadist?”; in: Association for the Commemoration of the Victims of the Crimes of Ukrainian Nationalists in Wrocław — web page: suozun.org [accessible: 2022.02.27]

source: „Центральний державний архів зарубіжної україніки CDAZU (Eng. Central State Archive of Foreign Ukrainians)”, in 22 parts, in: archive No. 52 „Обєднання Українців Закерсонія” (Eng „Association of Urkainians of Zakrersonia”), item 110

source: „Mykhailo Svitya's account ” — web page: tsdazu.gov.ua [accessible: 2021.12.01]

source: Hrubovčák Jozef, „Nik ich nečakal (Eng. Nobody expected them)”, in: Michalovce, 2018, in: orig. Slovak

source: Żurek Stanisław, „Calendar of the genocide – November 1946 and Autumnof 1946”; in: portal: Volhynia — web page: wolyn.org [accessible: 2022.02.27]