Poland supports extradition of Russian archaeologist for destruction of cultural heritage of Crimea

The Warsaw District Prosecutor's Office has supported Ukraine's request for the extradition of Russian citizen Alexander Butyagin, who is suspected of illegal archaeological work in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

This was reported by the Polish edition RMF24.

As noted, the relevant petition is already being considered by the Warsaw court. The case file includes the position of the prosecutor's office, which confirms the readiness of the Polish side to satisfy Ukraine's request. The court is also currently considering the issue of further detention of the Russian.

Butyagin was detained on December 11 at the international request of Ukraine. He has been wanted since 2024. According to the investigation, at the time of his detention, the man was passing through Poland on his way back from the Netherlands, where he had given lectures at European institutions.

He works at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg and led an archaeological expedition to the ancient settlement of Mirmekii in Kerch. The Ukrainian side believes that this activity became illegal after the occupation of Crimea in 2014.

According to the investigation, the archaeologist is suspected of partial destruction of a cultural heritage site and causing damage worth more than UAH 201.6 million. If extradited, he could face up to five years in prison.

The archaeologist was detained on December 4 by the Internal Security Agency during his stay in Warsaw, where he arrived as part of a European tour. Ukraine is preparing an official extradition request, and the final decision on his extradition will be made by a Polish court. If found guilty , Butyagin could face up to ten years in prison.

Last year, the Security Service of Ukraine put Russian archaeologist Vladimir Tolstikov on the wanted list. He is suspected of illegally conducting archaeological excavations in the temporarily occupied territory, which is associated with his longstanding activities in Crimea.

Анна Бальчінос