Kremlin urges Russians to avoid travel to Poland after scholar detention

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has condemned the detention of a Russian scholar and Hermitage Museum employee, Alexander Butyagin, in Poland, calling the incident an act of “legal arbitrariness,” and urged Russian citizens to refrain from travelling to Poland.

At a briefing, he stated that Moscow would, of course, demand the protection of the rights and interests of its citizens through diplomatic channels, Caliber.Az reports.

According to Peskov, Moscow will seek the scientist’s release, emphasising that securing the Russian citizen’s freedom is the most important priority.

On December 11, RMF FM radio reported that Polish special services, at Ukraine’s request, detained Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, a Hermitage employee, last week, allegedly for conducting excavations in Crimea.

The researcher was apprehended while travelling from the Netherlands to the Balkans. The radio station noted that the detainee refused to give testimony to the prosecutor’s office.

A Warsaw court has ordered the archaeologist’s detention for 40 days, and a formal extradition request from Kyiv is expected.

In November 2024, Ukrainian authorities filed charges in absentia against the Russian archaeologist conducting excavations in Crimea.

Official statements did not disclose the name, but according to several Ukrainian media outlets, it referred to Butyagin, who led one of the archaeological expeditions in Kerch.

By Jeyhun Aghazada