Former Ukraine Prosecutor General Alleges Intelligence Group Sent to Austria to Attack Him
Former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko said in a Telegram post on 28 October that Ukrainian intelligence personnel were sent to Austria to carry out unlawful violent actions against him. The National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office denied involvement and called the statement an attempt by Kravchenko to secure protection in his country of residence. Austrian authorities did not identify two of the four Ukrainian nationals detained, and no evidence supporting Kravchenko's claims about their affiliations has been made public.
Key points
- Ruslan Kravchenko published the allegations in Telegram on 28 October
- He says a group was sent after him to Austria in September to commit unlawful violent actions against him
- He claims NABU and SAP leaders requested the group's deployment and that orders came from the Office of the President
- NABU and SAP denied involvement and called the statement an attempt to secure protection abroad
- Austrian authorities detained four Ukrainian nationals, two on 6 October and journalist Mykhailo Tkach with cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko on 8 October
- Tkach and Bondarenko were released, Austrian prosecutors said they had no connection to the earlier detainees, and the espionage suspicion against Tkach was not confirmed
Why it matters
The allegations implicate NABU, SAP, the Office of the President and military intelligence personnel in alleged unlawful actions against a former prosecutor general who remains abroad. They were made without supporting evidence, and the institutions named denied involvement. The separate Austrian arrests and the investigation into four Ukrainian nationals remain unresolved in the available material, as does the inquiry into the circumstances of Kravchenko's departure from Ukraine following the Carpathian operation.
What happened
Kravchenko said on 28 October in Telegram that in September he learned a group had been sent after him to Austria to commit unlawful violent actions against him. He stated that NABU and SAP leaders requested the deployment and that the orders came from the Office of the President, but said he had no reliable information about who issued the order and did not specify the actions involved. He also claimed that Austrian authorities had detained two active GUR military personnel from the Artan unit, that one had previously worked in NABU's external surveillance unit, and that commander Viktor Torkotyuk was in Austria at the time of their detention. Kravchenko said a job was promised to Torkotyuk in exchange for the group's participation, without specifying what position or where.
In his post, Kravchenko also referred to Ukrainian Pravda journalist Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko, who were detained in Vienna on 8 October while working on an editorial assignment related to finding Kravchenko. Austrian prosecutors said the arrests were based on eyewitness testimony about a location watched by two espionage suspects, and not on the journalists' profession; they later released both and said the two had no connection to the Ukrainian nationals detained earlier. The espionage suspicion against Tkach was not confirmed, while Bondarenko said he was injured during the detention.
Kravchenko left Ukraine on the night of 14 September for a five-day Paris assignment that ended on 18 September. He did not return to work and did not explain why he stayed abroad, remaining in Austria for more than a month. His claims were published amid the aftermath of the Carpathian operation announced by NABU and SAP, which uncovered an alleged criminal organization covering for fraudulent call centers. NABU and SAP denied involvement in the events described by Kravchenko and said they were untrue, characterizing his statement as an attempt to secure protection in his country of residence.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
Ukrainian coverage centers on Kravchenko's social-media allegations, his stated reasons for remaining abroad, the institutional response and the Carpathian operation context. Substantial attention is given to NABU, SAP, the Office of the President, military intelligence personnel and the status of the Austrian investigation. The claims are presented alongside the absence of evidence supplied by Kravchenko and the official denial by NABU and SAP.
Where reporting differs
Kravchenko alleged that NABU and SAP leaders requested the group's deployment and that orders came from the Office of the President. NABU and SAP denied any involvement and characterized the statement as an attempt by Kravchenko to secure protection in his country of residence. Separately, Kravchenko identified two of the people detained in Austria as active intelligence personnel; Austrian authorities did not identify those two men and provided no evidence supporting his claims about their affiliations.
Background
Kravchenko left Ukraine on the night of 14 September for a five-day Paris assignment that ended on 18 September; he did not return to work and did not explain why he remained abroad. He was dismissed as prosecutor general on 15 September after the Verkhovna Rada supported his resignation by 317 votes, though he remained a prosecutor in the Office of the Prosecutor General. NABU and SAP had announced the Carpathian operation concerning an alleged criminal organization that covered for fraudulent call centers. The Austrian investigation involved four Ukrainian nationals; Austrian authorities did not identify the two nationals detained separately from journalist Mykhailo Tkach and camera operator Yaroslav Bondarenko.