Under the procedural guidance of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, a Russian archaeologist has been notified of suspicion in absentia for conducting illegal excavations at a cultural heritage site in Ukraine in Crimea (Part 4 of Article 298 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

This concerns the architectural-archaeological complex "Ancient City of Panticapaeum" – a legally protected architectural monument of national significance, located in the area of Mount Mithridates in the city of Kerch.

The suspect, a citizen of the Russian Federation, has been working in the field of archaeological research for a long time and heads the Department of Archaeology of the Ancient World at the Russian State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin.  

Since the occupation of the Crimean Peninsula and to this day, without any permits from the competent authorities of Ukraine, he has been illegally conducting excavations on the territory of the specified cultural heritage site as the "head of the Bosporan (Panticapaean) archaeological expedition."

Such actions by the suspect are effectively leading to the destruction of the mentioned archaeological monument of the ancient period, as confirmed by the conclusion of a judicial historical-archaeological examination.  

The pre-trial investigation is being conducted by the Main Directorate of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, with operational support from the Department of National Security of the Security Service of Ukraine.