The District Court in Warsaw has ruled to extradite Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin to Ukraine. He is suspected of committing a criminal offense related to the destruction of cultural heritage and causing damages exceeding 201.6 million hryvnias (equivalent to 4.8 million US dollars).
This is reported by Kyiv24
Charges and Case Progress
According to information from the Warsaw prosecutor’s office, Butyagin is suspected in Ukraine of partially destroying a cultural heritage site. He faces up to five years in prison on these charges. The archaeologist was detained in Warsaw back in December 2025 during his stay in Poland while returning from the Netherlands, where he had been giving lectures.
Butyagin is the head of the Ancient Archaeology Sector of the Northern Black Sea region at the Department of Ancient World at the Hermitage, and since 1999, he has led the Myrmecian Archaeological Expedition, which investigates the Myrmecian settlement in Kerch. Ukrainian authorities link the case against him to his involvement in archaeological excavations in Crimea following its occupation by Russia in 2014. Kyiv deems these activities illegal as they are conducted without agreement from the Ukrainian side.
Trial and Reaction
Following the court’s decision, the archaeologist’s defense announced their intention to appeal the extradition, meaning that the first-instance ruling does not yet imply immediate deportation. Currently, Butyagin remains in custody in Poland. Before the hearing on March 18, he stated that he felt well but did not expect a favorable outcome for himself.
The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a “protest” to the Polish ambassador in Moscow regarding the scientist’s detention. According to the ministry, the accusations from the Ukrainian authorities against him are “absurd,” and Butyagin is a “world-renowned archaeologist” who has been conducting research in the Kerch Peninsula for several decades.”
The Polish court’s decision marks yet another episode in the international confrontation over the activities of Russian scientists in Crimea, which remains a temporarily occupied territory.