The scholar, identified as Aleksandr Bugatin (also reported as Butiagin), was apprehended earlier this month by Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) at a hotel in central Warsaw.
According to Onet, the operation took place shortly after Bugatin had finished breakfast, and he offered no resistance. The researcher had arrived in Poland legally via Amsterdam and was en route to a planned lecture series in Belgrade.
Ukrainian prosecutors accuse Bugatin of overseeing unauthorized excavations at the ancient site of Myrmekion in Kerch between 2014 and 2019, during the period of Russian occupation.
The alleged destruction of Ukrainian cultural heritage is valued at over 200 million hryvnias. Kyiv has requested his detention and extradition.
Polish prosecutors confirmed that Bugatin refused to comment on the allegations, denied wrongdoing, and requested a court-appointed lawyer.
Zatrzymanie rosyjskiego naukowca w Warszawie wywołało międzynarodowe napięcia. Co kryje się za tym kontrowersyjnym aresztowaniem?
Opublikowany przez Onet Wiadomości Czwartek, 11 grudnia 2025
A Warsaw court has ordered his 40-day provisional arrest while Ukraine prepares the formal extradition request.
The Russian consulate in Poland has been notified in accordance with the Vienna Convention to ensure consular assistance.
Ukrainian authorities are compiling the full extradition dossier, and the case will proceed through Polish courts. If convicted in Ukraine, Bugatin could face up to 10 years in prison.
Moscow has strongly condemned the detention. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the arrest “a legal scandal” and said Russia would pursue Bugatin’s release through diplomatic channels, while warning that Poland is “not the safest destination” for Russian citizens given what he described as hostility from Warsaw.
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Source: Onet.pl/Wp.pl