Polish court orders extradition of Russian archaeologist Butyagin to Ukraine

The District Court of Warsaw granted Ukraineʼs request and ruled to extradite Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin to Ukraine.

This was reported by the initiative "Lawyer for Alexander Butyagin".

The decision does not mean immediate extradition — the archaeologistʼs defense plans to appeal. The lawyers argue that the prosecution has no evidence, the statute of limitations in the case has expired, and he faces human rights violations in Ukraine.

• Hermitage employee Oleksandr Butyagin was detained in Warsaw on December 4, 2025, at the request of the Ukrainian prosecutorʼs office. In Ukraine, he is suspected of conducting illegal excavations on the territory of the Myrmekii settlement in occupied Crimea and destroying the cultural layer of an archaeological site worth over 200 million hryvnias.
• Ukraine demanded his extradition, and in January the Polish prosecutorʼs office agreed to this request.

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