Overview
- A Warsaw court ordered 40 days of pretrial detention after Polish services detained Hermitage archaeologist Alexander Butyagin on Dec. 4.
- Prosecutor’s office spokesman Piotr Skiba called him a world‑renowned scholar and said all actions follow European human‑rights standards.
- Authorities expect a formal extradition request from Ukraine in a case that Polish media report could carry up to 10 years in prison.
- Russia’s Foreign Ministry labeled the case a political provocation, as embassy staff met Butyagin and his lawyer moved to appeal the detention.
- The State Hermitage said it is working with the Foreign Ministry to resolve the situation and maintains he complied with international archaeological norms in Crimea.