Ukrainska Pravda investigator Mykhailo Tkach freed in Vienna after 12 hours in custody

Detention on assignment

Mykhailo Tkach, head of investigative journalism at Ukrainska Pravda, and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko were detained in Vienna on 8 October while on an editorial assignment to track down former Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko. Kravchenko left Ukraine in mid-September, after a corruption investigation into alleged protection networks for fraudulent call centres, with bribery and money laundering allegedly carried out through the Prosecutor General's Office. Ukrainian press reported that he crossed the border into the EU on 14 September, initially heading for France. In a later statement from an undisclosed European location, Kravchenko denied any unlawful act and said he had left the country on a business trip.

Tkach leads the outlet's investigative team, a role he has held since 2021, according to Corriere della Sera. On 29 September he received the Free Media Award 2026 in Oslo for investigative journalism carried out during the war, a few days before his arrest. The outlet's statement did not specify what the team was investigating about the former prosecutor.

Release and injuries

Ukrainska Pravda said Tkach was released at about 4:00 on 9 October after more than 12 hours in detention, and editor Sevgil Musaieva confirmed the timing. Ukraine's Foreign Ministry also confirmed the release. His communication devices had not been returned, so the newsroom had no direct contact with him. Bondarenko was injured during the detention and taken to hospital, and the newsroom said police began questioning him only in the early hours. From the available information, it was unclear whether Bondarenko had been released.

Musaieva described the detention in these terms:

The editorial team considers this detention illegal and demands his immediate release, as well as an official explanation of the actions of the Austrian law enforcement authorities.

Ukrainska Pravda also asked Austrian authorities to explain the reasons and length of the detention, the proportionality of the operation, the cameraman's injuries and the return of seized material. Musaieva said earlier detentions of Tkach during reporting trips abroad had been resolved within about an hour or an hour and a half, whereas this one lasted more than 12 hours.

Other accounts said the Ukrainian consul gained access to Tkach overnight and spoke with him, while Austrian authorities continued to hold the journalist in custody. That version differs from the 4:00 release reported by the outlet and the Foreign Ministry.

Espionage arrests in Vienna

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed at a press conference on Friday that four Ukrainians had been arrested in Vienna this week on suspicion of espionage, according to the APA news agency. Two of the suspects, arrested early in the week, are in preventive detention. APA, citing trusted sources, reported that these two men are agents of Ukrainian military intelligence. Karner said the journalist and the cameraman were arrested on Thursday, that the cameraman remained in detention and that the journalist had been released.

Vienna prosecutors' spokeswoman Nina Bussek said suspicions had emerged against two other people in separate investigations without being confirmed. One of them has been released, and questioning of the other continues. Jörg Leichtfried, state secretary responsible for state protection, said:

This is an ongoing investigation about which we cannot provide any further information at this stage.

The case is handled by the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence (DSN), and the suspects face charges of secret intelligence activity to Austria's detriment under Article 256 of the Criminal Code.

Ukrainian diplomatic response

Heorhiy Tykhyi, spokesman for the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry, said the ministry, the Consular Services Department and the embassy in Austria were monitoring the situation. He described the consular steps taken so far:

The consul is already in contact with Austrian colleagues and has officially requested access to the detained citizen.

Ukrainska Pravda said an Austrian lawyer it had retained was in contact with both journalists and confirmed that police had taken Tkach to a detention centre in Vienna. The newsroom's requests for an explanation of the charges and for the status of both men remained open at the time of reporting.