Former Ukrainian prosecutor general claims planned violence in Austria
Ruslan Kravchenko alleges senior anti-corruption officials ordered a group to harm him, a claim that follows the detention of two journalists in Vienna.
By Yasmin Nasser ·
Former Ukrainian prosecutor general Ruslan Kravchenko stated on social media that senior anti-corruption officials requested a group be sent to Austria to commit violence against him. He alleged that the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office initiated the request on instructions from the President's Office.
Kravchenko said he received information in September that individuals had been dispatched to carry out unlawful violence against him. He claimed that two members of Ukrainian Defence Intelligence's Artan military unit were detained in Austria. According to Kravchenko, one of those servicemen had previously worked in the surveillance unit of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau. He also alleged that Artan commander Viktor Torkotiuk was in Austria during the detentions and was offered a promotion for his involvement. Kravchenko acknowledged he lacked reliable information identifying who specifically issued the instructions from the President's Office.
The former prosecutor general left Ukraine overnight on September 13 and 14. An order he signed authorized a five-day visit to Paris for hearings on Ukrainian children under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. His name was not on the participant list for the discussion. The trip ended on September 18, and prosecutor general's office spokesperson Mariana Haiovska said he had not returned to work by September 21. Kravchenko did not explain why he remained abroad after the official visit concluded.
On October 8, journalist Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were detained in Vienna while trying to locate Kravchenko. Austria's Interior Ministry said Tkach was initially suspected of espionage, a suspicion that was later not substantiated. Vienna prosecutors attributed the detention to eyewitness testimony without answering questions about how the reliability of that testimony was checked. Tkach said armed, masked men broke his car windows and pulled the pair onto the road. He said one man knelt on his neck while he identified himself as a journalist. They were accused of spying for Ukrainian military intelligence, participating in a criminal organisation, and harming Austria.
Ukrainska Pravda editor-in-chief Sevgil Musaieva reported on October 9 that Tkach had been released and that Bondarenko suffered injuries during the detention. Tkach suggested on October 14 that testimony from people connected to Kravchenko might have triggered the detention. He said investigators knew the pair were journalists by the time questioning began. The newsroom sought Austrian investigative materials to identify the witnesses.
Kravchenko linked his allegations to an explosion in Monaco on June 29 that injured sanctioned Ukrainian businessman Vadym Yermolaiev and two others. Two people were seriously hurt. Yermolaiev accused Ukrainian Defence Intelligence personnel of an assassination attempt in a letter published by Nice-Matin and sought an independent investigation. Kravchenko said Ukrainian prosecutors were handling that case and claimed knowledge of its circumstances.
