Former SSU general Naumov flees justice to Vienna and becomes hero for Russian propaganda – media
Andrii Naumov, former head of the Security Service of Ukraine's Main Directorate for Internal Security, suspected of passing confidential information to Russia, fled justice to the Austrian capital. Now the Russians are using him for a propaganda film. Vienna is ignoring requests for extradition.
This is reported in an article in the Kyiv Post, according to Censor.NET.
Why Naumov fled to Vienna
"Vienna has an almost magical appeal for a certain type of people, those who have problems with law enforcement in their home countries in Eastern Europe. And now a new arrival has appeared in the city, Andrii Naumov, a former general of Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU), who is wanted on charges of fraud, illicit enrichment, and abuse of office.
However, in this man’s case, the devil is in the details. Naumov is also believed to have played a key role in both the long-term and direct planning of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in coordination with Russian intelligence services. The question is: why did Naumov, who had previously been hiding in Serbia, a country fairly sympathetic to Russia, flee specifically to Vienna? Austria is generally reluctant to grant extradition," the outlet writes.
Russian propaganda uses Naumov
According to the report, Russian state propaganda likely views Naumov’s presence in Vienna as a stroke of luck.
The publication recalls that propagandists from Russia’s NTV devoted a full 40-minute segment to Naumov, including an interview he gave while strolling through the city. The fact that he appeared at several recognizable locations in Vienna was meant to signal: "we’re here and we do what we want."
The interview was filmed on Leopoldsberg Hill in front of a monument dedicated to the participation of Ukrainian Cossacks in the 1686 battle against the Ottomans, on the Old Danube across from UNO City, in a rooftop apartment apparently rented for filming, and in a park near Baden, outside Vienna.
Naumov and Bakanov
"The irony is that Naumov was once considered a trusted confidant of Ivan Bakanov, Zelenskyy’s childhood friend and former business partner in television, who went on to head Ukraine’s Security Service after Zelenskyy entered politics. According to Moscow’s plan, Naumov was meant to play a key role in a show trial against Zelenskyy," Kyiv Post reports.
Passing information to Russia before the full-scale invasion
Ukrainian investigators now accuse former SSU general Andrii Naumov of money laundering and fraud.
- At least, that’s how it’s described in the extradition request sent to Austrian authorities.
However, the allegations go far beyond corruption.
Naumov is suspected of having played a central role in providing Russian invasion forces with access to a damaged reactor in Chernobyl, along with operational instructions.
He previously headed a Ukrainian state enterprise responsible for managing the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.
However, his appointment as head of the SSU and his promotion to the rank of general have always been controversial.
According to the State Bureau of Investigations, Naumov is accused of "gathering information about the functioning of the Chornobyl exclusion zone's security systems and other confidential information" and passing it on to Russia.
The State Bureau of Investigation’s findings also suggest that Naumov may have been involved for years in Russia’s plans for a full-scale invasion of Ukraine or, at the very least, that Moscow had long viewed him as a reliable candidate for a senior position within Ukraine’s security apparatus in the event of Kyiv’s capture.
In any case, Naumov fled westward from Ukraine just hours before Russia launched its full-scale invasion. According to Insider, he left in a convoy, taking cash and valuables with him.
Austria rejects Naumov's extradition
For Austria, a country that generally maintains an ambivalent stance in international relations, the presence of such a wanted individual as Naumov is a delicate matter. As a result, official statements have been terse.
The Ministry of Justice forwarded the request to the regional court in Kornoburg, which only reported that the procedure for Naumov's extradition to Ukraine is under consideration. However, the hearing has not yet taken place.
When asked specifically about Naumov’s alleged ties to Russia, the court said in a written statement that the case materials contained no such indications. That point is also not mentioned in the extradition request.
Austria’s Ministry of the Interior and the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence (DSN) issued a brief comment: "Please understand that the Directorate for State Security and Intelligence cannot provide any specific information on this matter."
