"The APM has to hand over the Crimean treasures to the Ukrainian State for safekeeping until the situation in Crimea has stabilised", the court ruling read.
The decision was slammed by Crimean head Sergei Aksyonov, who called the ruling "outrageous" and said it "covers up" the illegal seizure of property.
"An outrageous, unfair, and illegal decision, albeit expected, given the bias of European courts and their hostile attitude towards Russia and Crimea", Aksyonov wrote on his Telegram channel.
A Chinese lacquer box from the first century A.D., a burial gift for a Late-Scythian woman, is displayed as part of the exhibit called The Crimea - Gold and Secrets of the Black Sea, at Allard Pierson historical museum in Amsterdam
© AP Photo / Peter Dejong
At the same time, Crimean Culture Minister Arina Novoselskaya said that the verdict runs counter to international regulations related to museum affairs.
The collection items will remain in the depositories of the Amsterdam museum either for three months, which are allotted for cassation or during the consideration of the cassation, Rob Meyer, the lawyer of Crimean museums, said.
The legal battle over the Scythian gold erupted after the Crimea reunited with Russia in March 2014. The collection was loaned to an Amsterdam museum from four Crimean museums for a temporary exposition. However, the museum decided against sending the collection to either Crimea or Ukraine and instead wanted to wait for a settlement or a court decision.