A judge in Poland has ruled that Russian archaeologist Alexander Butyagin can be extradited to Ukraine, although his defence says he will appeal.
Butyagin is being held in a Warsaw prison for allegedly conducting illegal excavations and plundering artefacts from the ancient city of Myrmekion in Crimea - Ukraine's peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.
If Judge Dariusz Łubowski's ruling is upheld, a final decision on extradition will rest with Poland's justice minister.
Butyagin - arrested in Poland at Ukraine's request in December - denies all the allegations. If convicted, he faces up to five years in jail. Russia has demanded his immediate release, saying the case is politically motivated.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, European courts in several instances have refused to extradite Russians to Ukraine, citing the possible risk of violations to the European Convention on Human Rights.
