Poland releases Russian archaeologist wanted by Ukraine: FSB
Poland has released Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, wanted by Ukraine for alleged unauthorized excavations in Crimea, as part of a multinational prisoner swap. The exchange occurred on the Belarus-Polish border and also secured the release of a Polish journalist from a Belarusian jail. Butyagin, head of the Hermitage Museum's archaeology department, had been detained pending extradition to Ukraine. Crimea has been under Russian occupation since 2014, a status not recognized by Ukraine or much of the international community.
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Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, who is accused by Ukraine of unauthorised excavation and plundering of historical artefacts in Crimea, is escorted by Polish police as he arrives at a district court in Warsaw, Poland, January 15, 2026. REUTERS-YonhapPoland on Tuesday released a jailed Russian archaeologist, Alexander Butyagin, who was wanted by Ukraine, as part of a multi-country swap deal that also saw a Polish journalist freed from a Belarusian jail, Russian state media reported."As a result of an exchange carried out on the Belarusian-Polish section of the border, two citizens of our country were returned to their homeland," state media cited the FSB security service as saying, naming one of them as Butyagin.The head of the archaeology department at the famed Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Butyagin faced extradition to Ukraine for conducting excavations in Crimea, which has been occupied by Russia since 2014.
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