{"id":577591,"date":"2026-03-19T14:15:13","date_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:15:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/2026\/03\/577591\/punishment-for-excavations-in-occupied-crimea-poland-has-approved-the-extradition-of-a-russian-archaeologist-from-the-hermitage\/"},"modified":"2026-03-19T14:15:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:15:16","slug":"punishment-for-excavations-in-occupied-crimea-poland-has-approved-the-extradition-of-a-russian-archaeologist-from-the-hermitage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/korabelov.info\/en\/2026\/03\/577591\/punishment-for-excavations-in-occupied-crimea-poland-has-approved-the-extradition-of-a-russian-archaeologist-from-the-hermitage\/","title":{"rendered":"Punishment for excavations in occupied Crimea: Poland has approved the extradition of a Russian archaeologist from the Hermitage"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko<\/strong> 18 March <\/strong>2026 reported that a court in Poland<\/strong> approved the extradition to Ukraine<\/strong> of Russian archaeologist Oleksandr Butyahin<\/strong>, who heads a sector at the \u201cState Hermitage\u201d<\/strong>. According to the Ukrainian side, this is the first case in which Ukraine<\/strong>‘s request for the extradition of a RF<\/strong> citizen has received such a judicial assessment.<\/p>\n

As reported, this concerns the decision of the District Court of Warsaw<\/strong>, which found the extradition of the Russian archaeologist legally admissible. At the same time, the Office of the Prosecutor General<\/strong> stresses: this is not yet the end of the entire procedure, as an appeal and further decisions by the competent authorities of Poland<\/strong> are still possible.<\/p>\n

According to Ruslan Kravchenko<\/strong>, after the occupation of Crimea<\/strong> Butyahin<\/strong> for years organized and carried out illegal archaeological excavations at the nationally significant site \u201cAncient city of Mirmekiy\u201d<\/strong>. The prosecutor’s office believes that under the cover of so\u2011called \u201cexpeditions\u201d the cultural heritage site was effectively excavated, damaged and partly destroyed, and the amount of damage exceeded UAH 200 million<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The Office of the Prosecutor General<\/strong> regards the actions of the Russian archaeologist as an attempt to rewrite history, appropriate Ukrainian heritage and, through pseudo\u2011scientific activity, legitimize the Russian occupation. They separately emphasized that RF<\/strong> citizens involved in crimes against Ukraine<\/strong> should not be able to move freely across Europe<\/strong>, give lectures or showcase achievements associated with the appropriation of others’ heritage.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThis is the first case in which a Ukrainian request for the extradition of an RF citizen has received such a judicial assessment. And this is a precedent,\u201d \u2014 emphasized Ruslan Kravchenko, commenting on the significance of this decision.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Also, Ruslan Kravchenko<\/strong> thanked his Polish colleagues for their principled position and professional cooperation. The Ukrainian side states that it is ready to continue the legal work in this case and will insist that all persons involved in crimes against Ukraine<\/strong> be held accountable.<\/p>\n

Earlier we wrote:<\/strong><\/p>\n