Austria says Ukrainian journalist's arrest on suspicion of spying was unrelated to his job - Reuters

Austrian authorities have stated that the recent arrest of a Ukrainian journalist and his cameraman in Vienna was based on suspicions of espionage rather than their professional activities. The Vienna prosecutors' office clarified that the arrests were ordered because the individuals were observed monitoring a location that had also been under surveillance by two other men previously detained on spying charges.

The sequence of events began on the Monday of the previous week, when Austrian police arrested two Ukrainian nationals on suspicion of espionage. Those two individuals remain in investigative custody. Following further investigation, authorities identified a third person whose behavior mirrored that of the initial suspects, leading to the issuance of an arrest order.

On the following Thursday, police arrested investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach and his cameraman, Yaroslav Bondarenko. According to the prosecutors' office, the decision to detain the pair was driven by witness reports indicating that three men had been seen observing a specific site in the same manner and during the same timeframe as the initial suspects.

The office explained that the arrest of the cameraman occurred because he was traveling in the same vehicle as the journalist at the time of the police intervention. Prosecutors noted that at the moment the arrest orders were executed, law enforcement was not aware that the individuals involved were members of the press.

Following their detention, both Tkach and Bondarenko were released without charge. The prosecutors' office emphasized that the investigative actions were focused solely on the suspicious conduct observed at the monitored location and were not influenced by the professional background of the detainees.