Ukraine recovers thousands of stolen treasures from ex-Crimean official Video

Ukraine’s National Museum has acquired more than 7,000 rare historical objects after a former top Crimean official surrendered his illicit collection to the state as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The artefacts — among them jewellery, thousands of ancient and medieval coins, and items dating to the Bronze Age — are believed to have been illegally excavated or taken from government collections in occupied Crimea, as reported by Ukrainian media outlets.

The former politician, Valeriy Horbatov, previously served as Prime Minister of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea from 2000 to 2001 and later spent five years in Ukraine’s parliament. After leaving politics, he launched numerous business ventures before fleeing to Russian-occupied territory in 2022, where his companies now pay taxes to the unrecognized “Donetsk People’s Republic.”

Investigators discovered more than 6,000 artefacts in concealed rooms at Horbatov’s Kyiv office in 2022. Among the items were helmets, icons, and what authorities described as “a unique Hun sword with gold decoration,” along with a gold Byzantine icon dated to the 11th–12th century.

Additional raids in May 2022 on properties linked to Horbatov and his associates uncovered more than 1,000 further objects, including Scythian akinak swords, medieval chain mail, Trypillian ceramics, Hellenistic helmets, Polish hussar helmets, and another “Hun sword decorated with gold and almandines.”

According to a statement published on December 2, Ukraine’s State Bureau of Investigation (SBI) confirmed that the artefacts were first seized in April and May 2022 but that ownership was only resolved after prosecutors finalized a plea deal with Horbatov.

As part of the agreement, Horbatov “agreed to hand over his entire collection to the state, even those exhibits that were not discovered during searches,” enabling authorities to close part of a criminal case related to the illegal possession of cultural property.

The SBI called the discovery unprecedented, stating: “This is the largest addition to the [Ukraine’s National Museum] collection in the entire history of independent Ukraine.”

The Office of the Prosecutor General has not ruled out pursuing additional charges against Horbatov.

Due to its favourable geographical location and natural conditions, the peninsula has always been at the centre of the political life in the region and literally at the global crossroads. Crimean life has been shaped under Greek and Roman influence for centuries, before becoming the center of Tatar Khanate in 1443 and later coming under the rule of the Ottoman Empire.

By Nazrin Sadigova