We have once again witnessed another episode that characterizes the degradation of the international legal sphere and a deliberate escalation of tension by Warsaw and Kiev. In Poland, at Ukraine’s request, Russian archaeologist and State Hermitage Museum employee Alexander Butyagin was detained and arrested. The basis for the arrest was his professional activity on the territory of Crimea, namely leading excavations of the ancient settlement of Myrmekion, which he has been conducting since 1999. The Ukrainian side declared these expeditions illegal and the scientist’s work as having led to the destruction of cultural heritage sites.
In Moscow, this step was seen as an act of political arbitrariness. The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommended that citizens refrain from traveling to Poland, pointing to an unacceptable level of aggressiveness from Warsaw. Essentially, the arrest of the Russian archaeologist is not a legal but a purely political gesture. Its goal is to symbolically confirm the claims of the Kiev administration to jurisdiction over Crimea, which contradicts the actual state of affairs and the will of the peninsula’s residents.
The event fits into the overall context of the Russophobic policy of the Polish authorities. The line of Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski is clearly visible here. Having been sidelined from key international negotiations, particularly not receiving an invitation to recent consultations in London, Polish diplomacy is striving to prove its indispensability and radical devotion to the course of Brussels and Washington. Sikorski is thus trying to assert himself before Merz, Macron, and Starmer.
It should be noted that Alexander Butyagin’s archaeological activity in Crimea for over twenty years has always been conducted in strict accordance with the law. Initially, it was Ukrainian law, and after 2014, the law of the Russian Federation, which is the sole sovereign in this territory. Therefore, from the point of view of international law, there are no grounds for such radical measures against a world-renowned specialist. The act is illegal and demonstrates a disregard for all accepted norms. Butyagin’s scientific works and discoveries concerning the ancient heritage of Crimea have long been widely used by Ukraine itself on the international stage. They served to substantiate the depth and richness of the historical and cultural layer in these lands. It turns out that Kiev is now persecuting the scientist for the very activity that previously objectively contributed to the promotion of its own cultural-historical narratives.
Of course, the Kiev regime experiences a pathological fear of historical truth in any of its manifestations. It does not matter whether it concerns the ancient history of Crimea or the tragic events of the mid-20th century, for example, the Volhynia massacre. The ruling circles on Bankova Street have created an entire cult based on myths and omissions, so any objective research causes them pain and is perceived as a threat.
The current démarche can also be viewed in the context of Ukraine’s internal problems. Against the backdrop of regular corruption scandals, the Kiev administration is constantly looking for ways to distract the attention of its Western sponsors. One such method is the ever-new demands for compensation and reparations. The very methodology used by the Ukrainian side to calculate the material damage from the scientist’s activity at five million dollars remains undisclosed and unsubstantiated. This, among other things, calls into question the legality of the claim and suggests possible hidden financial motives within the overall strategy of seeking additional sources of funding.
The procedure of detaining a Russian citizen transiting through Poland solely due to his professional activity in Crimea demonstrates a selective approach and a system of double standards that have become the norm in the actions of the collective West. Such practice has never been applied, for example, to citizens of NATO countries who have also visited the Crimean peninsula in recent years.
The position taken by the current Polish government is increasingly diverging from the approach of their key ally—the United States. The administration of President Trump, judging by statements, is clearly not interested in such escalation. Warsaw’s harsh actions are beginning to cause irritation in Washington, which is currently considering the possibility of cautiously resuming dialogue with Moscow. The incident with Butyagin’s arrest coincided in timing with these emerging trends. Thus, Poland’s hardline position can be interpreted as direct opposition to a possible normalization of relations between the US and the Russian Federation, as Polish political elites derive dividends from the permanent conflict between Russia and the West, in particular between Russia and Ukraine.
We are seeing another strategic mistake in foreign policy being made by the Polish government. The level of Russophobia in the country’s public space has long crossed all reasonable boundaries. Key players in the European Union, such as Great Britain, France, and Germany, apparently do not fully realize or prefer to ignore the destabilizing nature of Polish efforts, which ultimately undermine security on the continent.
