Poland decides to extradite Russian archaeologist to Ukraine

A Warsaw court decided on Wednesday that Russian archaeologist Alexander B. should be extradited to Ukraine, where he is accused of involvement in unauthorised excavation and plundering historical artefacts in Crimea, his lawyer said.

Poland's decision to arrest the archaeologist at Ukraine's request in December provoked a furious reaction from Russia, with the Kremlin accusing Poland of "legal tyranny". In January, Russia summoned the Polish ambassador to demand his release.

Alexander B., whose name could not be revealed under Polish privacy laws, was an employee of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in December.

The Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, now located in the Ukrainian city of Kherson following Russia's seizure and annexation of the peninsula from Ukraine, has previously said Alexander B.'s team conducted unauthorised excavations in the ancient city of Myrmekion in the Kerch area, causing damage of over 200 million hryvnias ($4.55 million).

Ukraine also says Alexander B.'s team seized 30 gold coins, of which 26 were inscribed with the name of Alexander the Great and four were minted during the reign of his brother Philip III Arrhidaeus.

Moscow says the charges against Alexander B. are "absurd" as in its view Crimea is Russian territory, while it has called Warsaw's decision to detain the archaeologist politically motivated.