Butyagin's defense is appealing the Warsaw court's decision to extradite the scientist to Ukraine.

The defense of Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin intends to file a complaint against the decision of the Warsaw District Court on the scientist's extradition to Ukraine. This was announced on March 18 by lawyer Adam Domansky.

"If the court recognizes the legal admissibility at this stage, the defense, of course, has the right to appeal. We will file a complaint against this ruling if it takes this form," he said.

According to the lawyer, during the hearing, the prosecutor supported the request to extradite Butyagin to Kiev. The defense, in turn, insisted that extradition could endanger the scientist's life and health.

"These arguments primarily focused on concerns about life and health. They are taken from the circumstances of this case, from the fact of Mr. Butyagin's citizenship, the nature of the profession he is accused of, and where he should have been extradited to," Domansky drew attention.

He also noted that the Ukrainian side had not submitted additional requests for Butyagin's extradition, and the court had not applied for such evidence.

In Warsaw, a court approved the extradition of a Russian archaeologist to Ukraine. What is known

The Warsaw District Court earlier that day issued a decision on Butyagin's extradition to Ukraine. At the same time, the scientist's lawyers stated that there was no evidence of his destruction of archaeological sites in the case file, and the amount of damage had not been confirmed.

Butyagin's detention in Poland became known on December 11, 2025. The Ukrainian authorities were looking for him allegedly for illegal archaeological research in Crimea. On January 12, a journalist from Izvestia reported that the Warsaw District Court had decided to extend his arrest after the hearing on Butyagin's case. Later, a court in Poland refused to change the measure of restraint. The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the accusations from Ukraine are absurd.

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