Overview
- The Warsaw district court ruled Ukraine’s request legally admissible and ordered that Alexander Butyagin remain in custody.
- The defense said it will appeal the decision, and his detention has been extended until at least June 1, 2026.
- Ukraine accuses Butyagin of unauthorized excavations at the Myrmekion site in occupied Crimea, alleging damage over 200 million hryvnias and the seizure of 30 gold coins.
- Butyagin is a senior researcher at St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum who continued archaeological work in Crimea after the 2014 annexation.
- Russia condemned the case as politically motivated and earlier summoned Poland’s ambassador, while Ukraine’s foreign ministry welcomed the court’s ruling.