Austrian police detained Ukrainian investigative journalist Mykhailo Tkach and cameraman Yaroslav Bondarenko in Vienna yesterday, on 8 October. Both were later released, but the circumstances of their detention remain unclear, and the prosecutor’s office said suspicion against them had not been substantiated so far.

The detention lasted more than 12 hours, the first time Tkach had been held that long while on a reporting assignment abroad. The case unfolded alongside a separate Austrian espionage investigation involving two men suspected of working for Ukraine’s military intelligence. Authorities have not said whether the cases are connected.

Tkach describes detention

In a video published by Ukrainska Pravda, Tkach said seven people wearing masks and carrying weapons approached their car at a traffic light about 3–5 kilometers from central Vienna, broke its windows, and pointed weapons at them.

He said the people did not identify themselves or explain their actions. The journalists were pulled from the car, forced face down onto the road, searched, and had their hands taped behind their backs, according to Tkach. He said he initially thought they were being kidnapped because he did not see identification or have time to notice police markings. He realized they were police only after seeing police vehicles.

“As I felt it, they detained us like terrorists,” Tkach said.

He added that people shouted and pointed weapons, and there was no communication. He said one person put a knee on his neck and shouted at him to be quiet. He also saw glass from the broken window fly into Bondarenko’s face.

In a second report, Ukrainska Pravda said Tkach’s account of a document presented to him listed three allegations: espionage in the interests of Ukrainian military intelligence, participation in a criminal organization, and, as far as he remembered, causing harm to Austria. He said investigators did not explain the evidence behind the allegations.

Vienna prosecutor’s office spokesperson Nina Bussek told the Austrian Press Agency (APA) that suspicion against the two journalists had arisen during other investigations but had not been substantiated. She said it currently appeared that the suspicion was not holding up. Austrian officials have not publicly addressed Tkach’s account of the force used.

Diplomatic response and calls for an investigation

Tkach and Bondarenko were in Vienna on an assignment to find Ruslan Kravchenko, Ukraine’s former prosecutor general, Ukrainska Pravda reported. Kravchenko was dismissed on 15 September amid an investigation by Ukraine’s National Anti-Corruption Bureau and Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office into alleged protection of fraudulent call centers. He denied involvement. Der Standard reported that it remained unclear whether the journalists’ detention was connected to their reporting on him.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi confirmed Tkach’s release and said the Ukrainian consul had requested access to him, according to NV. Musaieva said Bondarenko had been injured and hospitalized.

A statement signed by Ukrainian media and civil society organizations, including Euromaidan Press, called for an immediate, transparent, and independent investigation of law enforcement’s actions. The signatories also demanded an independent review of the force used, the return of seized equipment, and necessary medical and legal assistance.

Separate espionage investigation

Austrian Interior Minister Gerhard Karner confirmed the arrests of four Ukrainians, according to ORF. The two men detained on 5 October were placed in pretrial detention until 21 October on suspicion of secret intelligence activity against Austria. APA reported that they were suspected employees of Ukraine’s military intelligence service. Both deny the allegations.

Zack Polanski is on the brink of the sack as Greens leader today after being humiliatingly beaten in the Holborn and St Pancras by-election, trailing more than 3,000 votes behind Labour's Sagal Abdi-Wali.

The post Humiliated Polanski on Brink of the Sack After Losing By-Election as He Faces “Zionism is Racism” Backlash appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

No próximo fim de semana, nos dias 10 e 11 de outubro, a Praia do Malhão, na Freguesia de Vila Nova de Milfontes, recebe a 4ª etapa do Circuito Nacional Surf Sub18 Júnior Tour, evento organizado pela Federação Portuguesa de Surf.

A iniciativa conta com o apoio institucional do Município de Odemira e da Entidade Regional de Turismo do Alentejo e Ribatejo, uma vez que “reflete uma aposta clara na atração de provas desportivas de alta competição e visibilidade para o território alentejano.“

Refira-se que a Praia do Malhão, no Município de Odemira, já é conhecida e bastante procurada pelas excelentes condições para a prática de surf, entrando agora no calendário da competição nacional da modalidade.

De acordo com a organização, os melhores atletas masculinos e femininos sub 18 do surf nacional vão estar em prova na Praia do Malhão, para a penúltima etapa do circuito, depois de surfarem as ondas da Costa da Caparica, Santa Cruz e Praia Grande, e terminado recentemente em Sines.

Sublinhe-se ainda, que o Circuito Nacional Surf Sub18 de 2026 envolve perto de 90 atletas masculinos e 20 femininos em competição.