Aleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Poland at Ukraine’s request, has been released following months-long talks involving multiple countries

Renowned Russian archaeologist Aleksandr Butyagin, who was detained in Poland at Ukraine’s request, has been released as part of a five-for-five prisoner exchange which involved multiple countries. The negotiations are understood to have been conducted in absolute secrecy, resulting in the release of another Russian national and three Belarusian citizens.

Butyagin was apprehended by the Polish authorities last December while on a European lecture tour. Kiev demanded his extradition, accusing the senior researcher at St.…