Copyright kyivpost
Vienna has an almost magical attraction for a certain type of person – those with problems with law enforcement agencies in their home countries further east. And now there’s a newcomer in town: Andriy Naumov, once a general in the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU), wanted by Ukrainian law enforcement authorities for fraud, illegal enrichment and abuse of office. However, the devil is in the details with this man. Naumov is also credited with playing a key role in the long-term and immediate planning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – in coordination with Russian security services. This raises the question: why would such a man flee to Vienna of all places? Previously, Naumov had been staying in Serbia, a country that is quite sympathetic to Russia. The fact is that Austria is usually reluctant when it comes to extraditions. In any case, Russian state propaganda is likely to regard Naumov’s stay in Vienna as a stroke of luck. Accordingly, he is being exploited. The Russian state broadcaster NTV devoted a full 40 minutes to Naumov – including interviews conducted during a walk through the city at an almost demonstrative number of locations in Vienna, as if to show: We are here and we do what we want. Filming took place at Leopoldsberg in front of the monument commemorating the Ukrainian Cossacks’ participation in the relief battle against the Ottomans in 1686, at the Old Danube opposite the UNO City, in a rooftop apartment apparently rented for the shoot, and in a park near Baden near Vienna. The content: a propagandistic broadside against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The irony is that Naumov was once considered a confidant of Ivan Bakhanov, a childhood friend of Zelensky, later his business partner in the TV business, and finally, after Zelensky entered politics, head of the SBU. Now, however, Ukrainian criminal investigators are accusing Naumov, the former SBU general, of money laundering and fraud. At least this is what was stated in the extradition request to the Austrian authorities. However, the allegations go far beyond corruption. Naumov is suspected of having played a central role in personally handing over the Ukrainian reactor ruins at Chernobyl, complete with operating instructions, to the invading Russian troops. Naumov was for a time the head of COTIS, a Ukrainian state-owned company responsible for managing the Chernobyl exclusion zone. Yet his appointment to this position, as well as his promotion to general, have always been controversial. According to the State Investigation Bureau (DBR), Naumov is now accused of “collecting information about the functioning of the Chernobyl exclusion zone’s security systems and other confidential information” and passing it on to Russia. DBR findings also indicate that Naumov may have been involved in Russian plans for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine for years – or at least that Russia had been considering him for many years prior to February 2022 as a trustworthy candidate for senior positions in the Ukrainian security apparatus following a Russian takeover in Kyiv. In any case, just a few hours before the full Russian invasion, Naumov left Ukraine – but headed west. As the investigative media outlet Insider reported, he left in a motorcade, taking cash and valuables with him. Naumov first went to Germany and then to Serbia. On June 7, 2022, he was arrested at the border with North Macedonia together with Oleksandr Akst, a German citizen of Ukrainian origin. The reason: undeclared assets: €600,000 in cash, a large sum in dollars and valuable stones. As a result, proceedings were pending against Naumov in Serbia. Naumov was sentenced to one year for money laundering and released in January 2024. However, the case is likely to have been discussed at the highest diplomatic level in Serbia from the outset. Ukraine demanded Naumov’s extradition even then. Apparently, Russia also had a keen interest in Naumov. For some time, there was speculation that Naumov could be granted political asylum in Russia. The fate of the SBU general was also likely to have been discussed during a visit to Moscow in August 2022 by Serbian Interior Minister Alexander Vulin, who is known to be pro-Russian. At the time, there was speculation that the regime in Moscow had intended Naumov to play a key role in a possible Russian show trial against Zelensky. And this is exactly how the Russian propaganda film that has now been released comes across. For Austria, which tends to remain ambivalent in international relations, the presence of such a sought-after person as Naumov is a delicate matter. Official comments on the case are correspondingly brief: when asked, the Ministry of Justice in Vienna referred to the competent court. The competent court, the Korneuburg Regional Court, merely confirmed that Ukrainian extradition proceedings were pending. However, the actual hearing had not yet taken place. When asked specifically about Naumov’s involvement with Russia, the court stated in a written statement that this could not be inferred from the court records. In fact, they are not mentioned in the extradition request either. The Ministry of the Interior and the Austrian security service DSN (Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence) stated succinctly: “We ask for your understanding that the Directorate for State Protection and Intelligence... cannot provide any specific information on this matter.”
