Ukraine has announced the successful return of a significant assortment of ancient artifacts, concluding a nearly decade-long dispute with Russia over ownership.

Kyiv reports that 565 items, encompassing Scythian and Sarmatian jewelry, as well as sculptures, have been repatriated from the Netherlands.

Originally on loan to Amsterdam's Allard Pierson Museum, the collection, predominantly sourced from Crimean museums, became the subject of contention when Russia annexed Ukraine's peninsula in 2014. Despite claims from both Ukraine and Russia, Dutch courts ruled in favor of Kyiv.

The National Museum of the History of Ukraine in Kyiv stated on Monday that, following nearly 10 years of legal proceedings, artifacts from four Crimean museums featured in the exhibition "Crimea: Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea" in Amsterdam have now returned to Ukraine.

The collection, comprising items such as bronze swords, golden helmets, and precious gems, will be housed in the museum until the "de-occupation of Crimea." On Monday, Ukraine's SBU security service released a video showing a truck transporting artifacts weighing 2,694 kg (5,940 lb) to be cataloged and identified in Kyiv.

The Allard Pierson Museum said the objects, which were "independently checked and carefully packed in accordance with museum rules" last month, arrived in the Ukrainian capital on Sunday.

Its director Els van der Plas described it as a "special case, in which cultural heritage became a victim of geopolitical developments".

The Crimean museums where they were originally held - backed by Moscow - unsuccessfully argued that the artifacts should be returned to the peninsula.

A Dutch appeals court ruled in 2021 that the treasures belonged to Ukraine, rather than a specific museum. The country's Supreme Court agreed with that decision in its ruling earlier this year.

"This decision ends this dispute. The Allard Pierson Museum must return these artistic treasures to the state of Ukraine and not to the museums in Crimea," the Supreme Court said in a ruling in June.

This allowed them to be returned to the Kyiv History Museum.

Sergei Aksenov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, said on Monday the Dutch move to return the treasures to Ukraine had been expected "because both the West and Kyiv do not care about the law".

He added that the issue would be settled only when "the goals of the special military operation" set by Russian President Vladimir Putin were achieved.

Mr Aksenov was referring to Russia's full-scale invasion launched against Ukraine by the Kremlin leader in February 2022.

Meanwhile, Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying by Russia's state-run media that the collection "belongs to Crimea, it should be there".

The artifacts had been loaned by five museums: four in Crimea and one in Kyiv.

They include a gold Scythian ceremonial helmet dating back to the 4th Century BC and other treasures from the era when the ancient Greeks colonized Crimea.

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