Polish security services have arrested a senior Russian museum official wanted by Ukraine for illegal archaeological excavations in occupied Crimea, in a case that links cultural heritage crime to the wider consequences of Russia’s war.
According to Polish media, the detainee, identified as Aleksandr B., is a high-ranking representative of the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. He entered Poland last week while travelling overland from the Netherlands to the Balkans, where he was scheduled to deliver a series of lectures. It was during this transit that officers of the Internal Security Agency (ABW) moved in to detain him on the basis of a Ukrainian request for international legal assistance.
The Ukrainian authorities accuse the Russian scholar and his associates of conducting illegal excavations at the archaeological site “Ancient City of Myrmekion” in Kerch between 2014 and 2019. The works, carried out after Russia’s occupation of Crimea, allegedly led to the destruction of elements of Ukraine’s national cultural heritage. Kyiv argues that since the annexation, Crimea has become a laboratory for systematic looting and the erasure of historical memory, with artefacts removed, collections dispersed or integrated into Russian institutions, and archaeological standards ignored.
Poland has officially confirmed the detention. “Acting on the instructions of the Warsaw Regional Prosecutor’s Office and in connection with a request from the Ukrainian side for international legal assistance, on 4 December the Internal Security Agency detained a citizen of the Russian Federation, Aleksandr B.,” said Jacek Dobrzyński, spokesman for the minister coordinating Poland’s special services. He explained that the case concerns “the illegal conduct of archaeological excavations in 2014–2019 on territories of Ukraine currently occupied by Russia.”
Following his arrest, the Russian researcher was questioned by prosecutors in Warsaw. The Regional Prosecutor’s Office then applied for his temporary detention, arguing that the measure is necessary pending receipt and examination of a formal extradition request from Ukraine. The court agreed, ordering that he be remanded in custody for 40 days. Russian diplomatic representatives have been notified of the decision in line with consular procedures.
Ukraine’s prosecutor’s office is now preparing its extradition dossier, which will be submitted to the Polish courts for consideration. If the request is granted, Aleksandr B. would be transferred to Ukrainian jurisdiction to face charges that carry a potential sentence of up to ten years in prison. The court in Poland will be responsible for examining whether the conditions for extradition are met, including questions of dual criminality, the political nature of the offence and the protection of the suspect’s rights.
For Kyiv, the case is part of a broader attempt to hold individuals accountable for the exploitation of cultural assets in occupied territories. For Warsaw, it underlines Poland’s willingness to cooperate closely with Ukraine on sensitive legal matters linked to the war, even when they involve prominent Russian figures associated with major state institutions. The detention of a Hermitage representative on Polish soil sends a clear signal that activities conducted under the cover of scholarship in occupied Crimea may have serious legal consequences far beyond the peninsula itself.
