Why Ukraine is demanding the extradition of a Russian archaeologist and what is known about him

19.03.2026, 16:21 eurointegration.com.ua

At the end of last year, Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin was detained in Warsaw at Ukraine’s request.

And on 18 March 2026, a Polish court approved Kyiv’s request for his extradition to Ukraine, where he faces up to five years in prison.

Read more about what he is accused of and why his case could become a precedent in global practice in the article by Dmytro Butevych of the Nova Polshcha website: Extradition for Crimea – the first, but not the last. All about the case of Russian archaeologist Butyagin.

The 54-year-old Russian archaeologist, classical antiquity specialist, and science populariser Alexander Butyagin heads the Northern Black Sea Region sector in the Department of the Ancient World of the Hermitageand teaches at Saint Petersburg State University.

Since 1999, he has also led the Hermitage’s Myrmekion archaeological expedition, which studies the ruins of the ancient Greek city of Myrmekion in Crimea (near present-day Kerch). Before 2014, Butyagin’s activities in Crimea were entirely legal, as Ukraine granted permits for Hermitage expeditions on its territory.

After the annexation of Crimea, Butyagin continued archaeological excavations on the occupied peninsula.

For this reason, he was added to the Myrotvorets database in 2018.

Back in 2014, Butyagin, who also considers himself a poet, published a poem in which he declared his readiness to accept prison and poverty if "Russia required it".

Some experts view these lines as evidence of personal loyalty to the state and conscious identification with it.

Regarding the annexation of Crimea or the full-scale Russian-Ukrainian war, Butyagin has rarely spoken publicly.

However, on 24 February 2022, he wrote on Facebook: "I believe that the leadership of our country is acting purely irresponsible. I sympathise with Ukrainian friends and acquaintances, and with all of us as well. No matter how events unfold, we will have to deal with their consequences for a very long time."

In November 2024, the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office charged Butyagin in absentia and placed him on an international wanted list, after which a Ukrainian court issued a warrant for his arrest.

The charges are based on violations of the Second Protocol to the 1954 Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict.

In February 2025, Ukraine’s military intelligence (HUR) presented the project "Stolen Heritage", which documents cases of theft and destruction of historical monuments in temporarily occupied territories. Among several hundred individuals involved in these crimes is Alexander Butyagin.

According to Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU), the Hermitage’s Myrmekion expedition led by Butyagin caused Ukraine damages amounting to nearly 200 million hryvnias, referring to damage, destruction and theft of cultural heritage objects.

In November 2025, Butyagin left Saint Petersburg via Istanbul for a work trip to Europe.

His Russian-language lecture in Warsaw was scheduled for 4 December 025. However, that morning, officers of Poland’s Internal Security Agency arrested him at a hotel and took him to the local prosecutor’s office.

On 23 December 2025, Ukraine submitted a formal extradition request to Poland.

At the extradition hearing on 18 March, the Warsaw District Court found his transfer to Ukraine legally permissible.

The defence intends to appeal the decision.

The final decision on Butyagin’s extradition will be made by Poland’s Minister of Justice, Waldemar Żurek.

Butyagin’s arrest draws attention to the protection of cultural heritage in regions affected by active hostilities or occupation.

If he is ultimately extradited, it could pave the way for similar cases against other individuals who have worked on or participated in Russian projects in occupied Ukrainian territories.