Ukraine demands extradition of Russian archaeologist arrested in Poland

Poland has received an extradition request from Ukraine for Russian archaeologist Oleksandr Butyagin, who Kyiv accuses of conducting illegal excavations in Russian-occupied Crimea, Polish media reported Tuesday.

The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office received the extradition request from Ukrainian authorities for Butyagin, who was detained in Poland on 4 December, according to Polish radio station RMF FM.

Butyagin, 52, is an employee of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, where he heads the ancient archaeology sector on the northern Black Sea coast in the ancient world department.

Polish authorities arrested Butyagin at his hotel in Warsaw while he was travelling through Europe on an Italian visa and had a trip to Belgrade planned, according to reports. A Polish court placed him in custody for 40 days until 13 January while the extradition process proceeds.

Butyagin had been in Poland to deliver lectures, having previously given talks in Prague and Amsterdam.

Illegal excavations damaging cultural heritage

Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office in November 2024 charged an unnamed Russian citizen, later identified by Ukrainian media as Butyagin, with illegal excavations in occupied Crimea.

Ukrainian authorities accuse Butyagin of conducting archaeological work at the ancient city of Myrmekion in the Kerch district of Crimea from 2014 to 2019 without permits from Ukrainian authorities, resulting in the partial destruction of the archaeological site.

The Ukrainian security service SBU said in a statement that Butyagin's excavations damaged Ukrainian cultural heritage, with the archaeological team removing "the so-called cultural layer of the Ukrainian peninsula to a depth of almost two metres".

Ukrainian authorities estimate the damage at more than 200 million hryvnia (approximately €4.75 million).

The charges cover illegal search operations at archaeological heritage sites and destruction or damage to cultural heritage sites committed while searching for movable objects.

If extradited to Ukraine and convicted, he faces between one and 10 years in prison. A Polish court will make the final decision on extradition.

Expeditions and excavations

Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov called Butyagin's detention "legal arbitrariness."

Colleagues from the Russian Academy of Sciences called the detention "absurd in its motivations". The State Hermitage Museum said all international standards were observed during the expeditions.

Butyagin has overseen excavations at Myrmekion, an ancient Greek colony founded in the first half of the 6th century BCE, since 1999, according to statements he gave to Russian state-run media in 2024.

Myrmekion is located near modern Kerch in Crimea. Notable finds during Butyagin's excavations include coins from various periods, including Alexander the Great's era, according to reports.

Russia illegally unilaterally annexed Crimea in February 2014, following its initial invasion of the peninsula and the Donbas region in Ukraine's east. The annexation was condemned by most of the international community as a violation of international law.

Ukraine has repeatedly accused Russia of carrying out illegal excavation works and damaging cultural heritage sites in Crimea since 2014, including exporting archaeological discoveries to Russian cities in breach of international law.

The Ukrainian Centre for Journalist Investigations reported that Butyagin was involved in organising expeditions in Kerch during Russia's occupation.