Russia demands release of archaeologist detained in Poland over Crimea excavations

Russia has summoned Poland’s ambassador to protest the arrest of a Russian archaeologist wanted by Ukraine, calling the charges “absurd” and demanding his immediate release.

File photo. A police car is seen in front of the Polish embassy in Moscow, Russia.

EPA/YURI KOCHETKOV

Alexander Butyagin, a longtime employee of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, was detained by Polish authorities in December at Ukraine’s request. Kyiv accuses him of unauthorized excavations and damaging a cultural heritage site in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said it summoned Ambassador Krzysztof Krajewski on Monday and warned against extraditing Butyagin to Ukraine.

“The Russian Federation demands the immediate release of the Russian citizen and that he not be handed over to the Kyiv regime’s punitive machine, which has no resemblance to justice,” the ministry said.

Ukrainian prosecutors say Butyagin led excavations at the Myrmekion archaeological site in Kerch between 2014 and 2019 without permits, causing damage estimated at over UAH 200 million (around EUR 4 million).

A Warsaw court extended Butyagin’s detention until March 4. A hearing on Ukraine’s extradition request is set for Jan. 15. The archaeologist has declined to testify, according to Polish officials.

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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters