Ukraine ex-prosecutor alleges state plot in Austria

Ruslan Kravchenko, the former prosecutor general of Ukraine, has remained abroad since mid-September while accusing domestic agencies of orchestrating a plan to harm him in Austria.

Kravchenko stated in a social media post that the heads of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office requested a group be sent to Austria to carry out unlawful acts of violence against him.

He claimed the orders for this group originated from the Office of the President. Kravchenko noted that the unit's commander, Viktor Torkotiuk, was promised a promotion in exchange for the operation, though he said he does not yet have reliable information on who exactly issued the criminal order.

According to Kravchenko, two military personnel from the Artan unit of Defence Intelligence of Ukraine were detained in Austria. He identified one of them as a former employee of the NABU surveillance unit and confirmed that Torkotiuk was present in Austria when the subordinates were detained.

The former prosecutor general drew parallels between the Austrian incident and an explosion in Monaco earlier this summer. He stated that prosecutors from the Office of the Prosecutor General are handling the criminal case in Monaco and that he possesses information about the circumstances of those events.

Kravchenko also implicated journalists from Ukrainska Pravda in the Austrian investigation. He claimed that Austrian authorities are investigating four people, including two representatives from that newsroom. He pointed out that Mykhailo Tkach was in Monaco shortly before the incident involving intelligence personnel and was in Vienna during their detention.

He stated that the legal assessment of these links falls within the remit of European law enforcement authorities. Kravchenko did not provide a detailed explanation for why he has not returned to Ukraine following his official trip.

The former prosecutor general left Ukraine on the night of 13 September. An order he signed indicated he was scheduled to spend five days in Paris for hearings under the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe regarding Ukrainian children. His name did not appear on the list of participants for that discussion.

His official trip concluded on 18 September. Mariana Haiovska, spokesperson for the Office of the Prosecutor General, told Ukrainska Pravda that Kravchenko had not returned to work by 21 September.

Vienna prosecutors said the detention of journalists Mykhailo Tkach and Yaroslav Bondarenko was prompted by eyewitness testimony. Tkach was detained on 8 October while on an assignment to locate Kravchenko. Austrian authorities initially suspected him of espionage, a suspicion later not substantiated. Bondarenko was injured during the detention and released the following day.