MOSCOW, April 29. /TASS/. The release of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin was a complex operation, successfully carried out by Russian intelligence agencies, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in response to a TASS question.

"It was a difficult and responsible process, and our intelligence agencies executed and completed it successfully," he noted when asked about the Kremlin’s stance on the operation to free the researcher.

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) announced earlier that archaeologist Alexander Butyagin had been exchanged for two Moldovan intelligence officers. His release was the result of a multi-stage operation carried out by the FSB in coordination with Belarus’ State Security Committee (KGB).

Polish intelligence agencies detained Butyagin on his way from the Netherlands to the Balkans on December 4, 2025 during his European lecture tour. A Warsaw court ruled that the archaeologist be taken into custody. Polish prosecutors received an extradition request from Ukraine and said Butyagin could face up to ten years in prison in Ukraine. A Warsaw court of first instance ruled to extradite Butyagin, but his defense was going to appeal the decision.