A judge in Poland has ruled that Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin can be extradited to Ukraine, although his defense says he will appeal.
Butyagin is being held in a Warsaw prison for allegedly conducting illegal excavations and plundering artefacts from the ancient city of Myrmekion in Crimea - Ukraine's peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
If Judge Dariusz Łubowski's ruling is upheld, a final decision on extradition will rest with Poland's justice minister.
Butyagin, arrested in Poland at Ukraine's request in December, denies all the allegations. If convicted, he faces up to five years in jail. Russia has demanded his immediate release, saying the case is politically motivated.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European courts have, in several cases, refused to extradite Russians to Ukraine, citing the possible risk of violations to the European Convention on Human Rights.
The archaeologist's life and wellbeing would be at risk if he were extradited to Ukraine, Butyagin's lawyer Adam Domański has said.
A senior scholar at the Hermitage, Russia's largest art museum in St Petersburg, Butyagin has overseen excavations of Myrmekion, an ancient Greek settlement founded in Crimea since 1999. Initially, his research was authorized by Ukraine. However, when Russia annexed the peninsula in March 2014, the work continued without Kyiv's consent.
He could face a jail term of up to five years if found guilty of plundering artefacts, including 30 gold coins, resulting in damage estimated at over $4.5 million.
Butyagin had previously traveled in Europe giving talks before his arrest in December. He was unaware that a Kyiv court had issued a warrant for his arrest in April 2025.
Discussions have erupted regarding the legality of archaeological work in occupied territories, with experts like Evelina Kravchenko from Ukraine's Institute of Archaeology emphasizing the harm caused to Crimea's cultural heritage.
Butyagin's fate now hangs in the balance as the Polish legal system navigates the complexities of geo-political implications and cultural preservation.
Russia's excavations in Crimea are illegal under the 2nd protocol of The Hague Convention for the protection of cultural property in armed conflict, which Ukraine and most European countries adhere to, while Russia does not.
