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Ukraine Identifies Five People Linked to Illegal Crimea Excavations and 14 Removed Artifacts
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Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence (HUR) has identified five individuals allegedly involved in unauthorized archaeological excavations in temporarily occupied Crimea and published information on 14 Ukrainian cultural artifacts it says were removed during the excavations.
The information was published on HUR’s War&Sanctions portal under its “Stolen Heritage” section on October 7.
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According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russian authorities have been conducting large-scale unauthorized archaeological work at and around the ancient city of Tauric Chersonese since 2020–2021 as part of the “New Chersonese” project. In July 2024, an archaeological park and museum-temple complex bearing the same name was opened as part of the project.
HUR said construction of the complex involved extensive interference with the site’s historical and archaeological environment, with building work significantly damaging and destroying parts of its cultural layer.
Ukrainian intelligence identified four people it says were involved in implementing the project: Natalia Solovyova, director of the Rescue Archaeology Center at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for the History of Material Culture; Ivan Yesin, director of the My History Foundation for the Support of Humanities; Maksim Zhukalov, the so-called deputy governor of Sevastopol; and Larisa Shepko, a professor at the Department of World History at the so-called Donetsk State University.
HUR also named Nadezhda Milikhina, a junior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute for the History of Material Culture. According to the agency, she served as deputy to Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin during the State Hermitage Museum’s unauthorized Myrmekion archaeological expedition in temporarily occupied Crimea.
HUR noted that in 2024, the Prosecutor’s Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol notified Butyagin of suspicion over the deliberate and unlawful partial destruction of a cultural heritage site. In 2026, the charges were changed to violations of the laws and customs of war. He was detained in Poland in late 2025 before being released and transferred to Russia in April 2026 as part of a prisoner exchange.
Ukrainian intelligence also published information on 14 cultural artifacts it says were taken from the ancient city of Myrmekion during the expedition. Among them are a coin from the reign of Bosporan King Sauromates II, dating to 180–196 AD, and a black-glazed one-handled kantharos dating to 370–350 BC.
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Russian actions have damaged or destroyed 1,990 cultural heritage sites across Ukraine, the Office of the Prosecutor General reported on August 17.
Ukrainian prosecutors and law enforcement agencies have identified 11 Russian military personnel as suspects in cases involving alleged violations of the laws and customs of war related to damage and destruction of cultural property.
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