British News Agency

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Poland’s Ambassador to Moscow, Krzysztof Krajewski, and lodged a protest over Russian archaeologist Aleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Warsaw in December 2025.

The ministry said that the accusations brought by the Kyiv authorities against Butyagin are linked to his scientific activities in Crimea and are therefore unfounded; adding that Interpol’s decision not to act on Ukraine’s request and the fact that Butyagin was able to travel freely to European countries prior to his detention demonstrate the politicization of the pursuit.

It was also noted that Butyagin, a world-renowned archaeologist and an employee of the State Hermitage Museum, carried out his work on the Kerch Peninsula with the permission of all relevant authorities, and that the artifacts found were handed over to the Eastern Crimea Museum-Reserve.

The Foreign Ministry demanded the immediate release of archaeologist Butyagin.