Several former senior Ukrainian officials and politicians are now based in Vienna, and the arrival of ex-Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has prompted Ukrainian media to speak of a potential «government in exile» taking shape in the Austrian capital, Ukrainskaya Pravda reported, citing an unnamed official.

Kravchenko is not the only former high-ranking figure living there. Vienna is also home to former Constitutional Court chairman Alexander Tupitsky, ex-National Bank governor Kirill Shevchenko and former Verkhovna Rada deputy Andrey Kholodov.

According to the publication, the unnamed official suggested that Vienna could soon host an entire Ukrainian «government in exile.» The article also stressed that the city has no air raid alerts or ballistic missile threats, while its Ukrainian residents do not face suspicions from NABU and SAPO or the need to post bail. It further noted that Austria has so far not extradited suspects to Ukraine.

Kravchenko submitted his resignation on September 7 and left Ukraine roughly a week later. He said his trip was intended to brief foreign partners on the situation surrounding the country’s anti-corruption agencies. On September 15, Vladimir Zelensky signed a decree dismissing him as Ukraine’s prosecutor general.

Earlier, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office announced an operation targeting a criminal organization that, according to the agencies, was headed by an employee of the Prosecutor General’s Office. The group was linked to the activities of fraudulent call centers.

As part of the case, Sergey Kropiva, deputy head of the international cooperation department at the Prosecutor General’s Office, was detained. SAPO said members of the scheme received money from fraudulent call centers in exchange for not interfering with their operations.

Investigators allege that the proceeds were then laundered through purchases of real estate and valuables, as well as disguised as income belonging to people close to the suspects. Five people were charged in the case.