The State Hermitage Museum canceled all archaeological expeditions planned in Crimea, citing a deteriorating security situation, difficult logistics, and problems with traveling to the region. The museum had previously carried out at least nine archaeological expeditions in Crimea. The Myrmekian archaeological expedition near Kerch, led by Butyagin, will not operate in Crimea this year, according to censor.net.

Archaeologist Alexander Butyagin was detained in Poland in December 2025, according to rferl.org. Ukrainian authorities accused him of conducting excavations in Crimea and estimated financial losses from these activities at more than 200 million hryvnyas (about $4.8 million). A district court in Warsaw approved Ukraine’s request to extradite Butyagin. His lawyer, Adam Domański, confirmed that Butyagin would appeal the extradition decision.

Russian authorities protested Butyagin’s detention, calling Ukraine’s legal action absurd and asserting that Crimea is part of the Russian Federation. Interpol refrained from acting on Ukraine’s request for Butyagin’s arrest. According to mid.ru, Butyagin had traveled unimpeded to several European countries prior to his detention. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski confirmed Warsaw released a Russian historian in transit to Ukraine, and Domański confirmed Butyagin was included in that prisoner exchange.