MOSCOW, March 18. /TASS/. A Warsaw court has granted Ukraine’s request to extradite Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, his relatives reported on Telegram.
TASS has compiled the most up-to-date information on the situation.
Court’s decision
- A Warsaw court has granted Ukraine’s request to extradite Butyagin, a Telegram channel run by the scientist’s relatives said.
- Butyagin’s attorney, Adam Domanski, confirmed that Judge Dariusz Lubowski ruled that the extradition of his client to Ukraine was lawful.
Defense’s position
- The Russian archaeologist’s defense team intends to appeal the decision, the relatives said.
- According to them, the trial court’s decision does not mean immediate extradition.
- The scientist’s relatives also said that Ukraine is seeking Butyagin’s extradition under Article 298 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code ("Intentional Unlawful Destruction, Damage, or Defacement of a Cultural Heritage Site Committed for the Purpose of Searching for Movable Objects Originating from Archaeological Heritage Sites").
- The defense pointed out that the case materials, including the expert opinion relied upon by the prosecution, contain no evidence of monument destruction or substantiated damage, the statement said.
- The lawyers argue that the case files describe only the fact that excavations were conducted without Ukraine’s permission, which, according to the Ukrainian Criminal Code, is not punishable by prison time or constitute an extraditable offense.
- The statement also noted that the statute of limitations for the alleged offense has long since expired.
- Extradition to Ukraine poses a direct threat to Butyagin’s life, the scientist’s relatives emphasized.
Butyagin’s statements
- Before the hearing, the archaeologist stated that he expects "nothing good" from the court.
- When asked about his condition, the Russian scientist replied that he is doing well.
- Later, Butyagin called the Warsaw court’s decision on the legal admissibility of his extradition to Ukraine "entirely expected."
About case
- In November 2024, Ukrainian authorities indicted a Russian archaeologist who was conducting excavations in Crimea, but the indictment was issued in absentia.
- The name was not specified in official reports, but according to several Ukrainian media outlets, the individual in question was Alexander Butyagin, head of the Northern Black Sea Region’s Ancient Archaeology Department at the State Hermitage Museum and head of the Myrmekion archaeological expedition in Crimea.
- On December 4, 2025, Butyagin was detained by Polish security services while traveling from the Netherlands to the Balkans during his European lecture tour.
- A Warsaw court ruled to detain the archaeologist for 40 days, and the Polish Public Prosecutor's Office received an extradition request from the Ukrainian side.
- The court has extended Butyagin’s detention twice.
- According to the Polish prosecutors, Butyagin could face up to ten years in prison in Ukraine.
- Polish ambassador to Moscow Krzysztof Krajewski was summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry, where diplomats protested Butyagin’s detention.