Austria detains Ukrainians on spying fears

Austrian news agency APA reported that the two men were allegedly members of Ukrainian military intelligence.(AFP) — Two Ukrainians are being held on suspicion of espionage in Austria, authorities said Friday, while two Ukrainian journalists also arrested in the case are being released.The Ukrainian newspaper employing the journalists said one of them was injured when both were arrested Thursday and was admitted to a hospital.Two other suspects, arrested Monday, remain in custody on suspicion of “espionage,” Interior Minister Gerhard Karner said.“Investigations are currently underway,” he told reporters, declining to give further details.Austrian news agency APA reported that the two men were allegedly members of Ukrainian military intelligence.A spokeswoman for the prosecutor’s office told AFP the two journalists were detained Thursday on “suspicions that have not been confirmed.”“One has already been released and the second will be,” she said.The two work for the Ukrainian daily Ukrainska Pravda, which has condemned their arrests.“The charges brought against our colleagues during their detention are unlike anything our editorial team has dealt with before and raise serious questions,” the newspaper said, demanding “explanations” from Austrian law enforcement authorities.Ukrainska Pravda said journalist Mykhailo Tkach, head of its investigative journalism team, was freed early Thursday “after more than 12 hours in custody in Vienna.”His colleague, cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko, was injured during his arrest and was hospitalized, editor-in-chief Sevgil Musaieva said on Facebook.“The police did not begin questioning him until late at night,” she said of Bondarenko.Tkach was detained in Vienna while on an editorial assignment related to the search for former Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko, who is on the run, the newspaper said.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy fired Kravchenko last month.Kravchenko has been accused of taking bribes, allegations he denies.Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders said the two Ukrainian journalists were “subjected to a violent police arrest in Vienna.”“RSF calls on the authorities to shed full light on these events and to ensure the protection of their equipment and sources,” the nongovernmental organization said on X.Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said it was “continuing to work to clarify the circumstances of the detention” and was in touch with Austria’s Foreign Ministry.Subscribe to our free newslettersOur weekly newsletter Closing Arguments offers the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world, while the monthly Under the Lights dishes the legal dirt from Hollywood, sports, Big Tech and the arts.Additional Reads