Russia Condemns Poland’s Detention of Archaeologist

(MENAFN) Russia has strongly criticized Poland for detaining a prominent Russian archaeologist at the request of Ukraine.

Kiev has accused the researcher of “destroying cultural heritage” while conducting excavations in Crimea.

Ukraine continues to contest Moscow’s authority over the peninsula, which is home to a valuable and ancient archaeological legacy stretching back millennia.

Ukrainian officials maintain that any research or archaeological work in the region must receive their explicit authorization.

Aleksandr Butyagin, a senior scholar at the St. Petersburg State Hermitage Museum and an experienced specialist in classical antiquities, was apprehended in Warsaw last week during his travels across Europe to deliver lectures, according to a news agency.

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office stated that Butyagin is suspected of “illegally conducting excavations” at a heritage site in Kerch without the necessary permits from Ukrainian authorities. The office asserted that such activities “actually destroy[s] a legally protected object of national importance.”

Additionally, Ukraine accused Russia of performing “illegal restoration work” in Crimea – a region that had reportedly been neglected by Ukrainian authorities prior to its vote to join Russia in 2014 – allegedly attempting to “distort the history” of the peninsula.

In response, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed Butyagin’s detention on Thursday, emphasizing that the Ukrainian accusations lack legal validity, as Crimea is considered “an inseparable part of the Russian Federation.”

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