Poland frees archaeologist Alexander Butyagin in 5-for-5 prisoner exchange at Belarusian border
Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin has been freed in a prisoner exchange at the Belarus-Poland border, Russia’s state news agency TASS reported, citing the Federal Security Service.
Butyagin and the wife of a Russian serviceman who, according to the FSB, “is serving in the peacekeeping contingent in Transnistria” were exchanged for two Moldovan intelligence officers, the agency said. The swap likely involved Moldovan citizens detained in June 2025.
The FSB said Butyagin’s return — he had been facing extradition to Ukraine — was the result of a multi-stage operation carried out jointly with the Belarusian KGB.
What Ukraine accused Butyagin of
Since 1999, Alexander Butyagin has led the Myrmekion Archaeological Expedition, which studies the ancient settlement of Myrmekion on the territory of modern Kerch. Ukrainian authorities consider Butyagin’s participation in excavations after 2014 — that is, since Russia’s annexation of Crimea — to be illegal.
He is suspected of partially destroying a cultural heritage site and causing damage totaling more than 201.6 million hryvnias ($4.8 million).
In early December 2025, Alexander Butyagin was detained in Warsaw at Ukraine’s request — Ukraine had placed him on a wanted list in 2024. The Russian scholar had been lecturing in Europe and was passing through Poland on his way from the Netherlands. He had been held in a pretrial detention center in Warsaw ever since.
In March, a Polish court approved Ukraine’s extradition request for the Russian archaeologist.
The exchange took place at the Pererov-Bialowieza border crossing, the Belarusian KGB reported. Five people convicted in Belarus and Russia for espionage were handed over to the Polish side, the agency said, in exchange for five citizens of Belarus, Russia, and other CIS countries who had been detained across European Union member states and elsewhere.
Among those handed over to Poland was Belarusian political prisoner and journalist Andrei Pochobut. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk was at the border to meet him. Tusk called the exchange the conclusion of a two-year complex diplomatic effort and thanked the United States, Romania, and Moldova for their assistance. Poland had fought for Pochobut’s release for five years, the Belarusian outlet Nasha Niva noted.
The names of the other participants in the exchange have not been disclosed. According to the Belarusian state news agency Belta, those returned to Belarus had been carrying out missions of particular importance for national security and the country’s defense.
Negotiations over the exchange began in October 2025 on the orders of Alexander Lukashenko, the Belarusian agency reported. Intelligence services from seven countries took part in all, including Poland, Russia, and Belarus.
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