Poland holds Russian scientist wanted in Ukraine for illegal excavations
Poland's Internal Security Agency (ABW) has detained a prominent Russian scholar whom Ukraine sought for archaeological digging on the Moscow-occupied territories, the spokesperson for the special services coordinator told PAP.
The apprehension occurred on December 4, in the wake of Kyiv's request for international legal support to catch the Russian, Jacek Dobrzynski said on Thursday.
"The legal proceedings concern the unauthorised excavations carried out between 2014 and 2019 on the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia," he added.
According to Poland's RMF Radio reports, Aleksander B. is accused of "destroying objects of Crimean cultural heritage," with Kyiv estimating losses at UAH 200 million (EUR 4.1 million).
The detention drew backlash from Moscow later on Thursday, with the Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Pieskov, labelling it "scandalous" in comments cited by Reuters news agency and accusing Warsaw of "legal tyranny" while demanding the release of the Russian.
The Warsaw court ordered Alexander B.'s pre-trial arrest until January 13, 2026.
Ukraine had been seeking Alexander B. since November, alleging he oversaw years of unauthorised digs at the ancient city of Myrmekion in Crimea for years, following Russia's 2014 annexation of the peninsula.
The media outlet wrote that the Russian is the head of the ancient archaeology department at Russia's State Hermitage Museum, the world's second largest. He had been touring Europe to deliver lectures and took a stop in Warsaw while travelling from the Netherlands to the Balkans, the media added. (PAP)
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