The ancient Viking-era sword which was confiscated at the Estonian-Russian border checkpoint of Luhamaa last winter will be handed over to Ukraine on May 12, Ukrainian Ambassador to Estonia Viktor Kryzhanivsky told the Estonian ERR TV channel website on Tuesday.
“A day earlier, the Ukrainian Culture Ministry delegation will arrive in Estonia to take the historical find to Kyiv on May 13,” he said.
The ancient weapon was found by the officials of the Estonian Tax and Customs Department during the customs inspection of one of the cargo vehicles. The driver, a Belarusian national, had no transportation permit for the rare object. An expert evaluation discovered that the sword is about a thousand years old, and its auction price may amount to least 17,000 euro.
According to the preliminary conclusions of the experts of the Estonian Department of Cultural Heritage and Conservation, the weapon, dating to the 5th or 6th century, was, most likely, discovered in northern Russia, and Estonia was going to return the finding to Russia. However, later, Ukraine said that the sword was discovered in the Volyn region and was smuggled to Russia.
Estonian experts accepted the Ukrainian version and the decision to hand over the sword to the authorities in Kyiv was reached.
