Russia’s new journalists in Austria linked to intelligence services

This information comes from an investigation by The Insider.

TASS didn't have any reporters in Vienna for over a year. That's because last June, their two previous reporters, Ivan Popov and Arina Davidyan, were suspected of spying and had their press passes taken away.

The investigation found that the new TASS reporters, Olga Kukla and Maksim Cherevik, who arrived in Vienna in August, are also likely working for the SVR. The report questions why these specific individuals were suddenly chosen as reporters. For example, Olga's background is particularly odd: she studied energy at a top Russian university (MGIMO), interned at major energy companies like Novatek and Gazprom, and then worked at Novatek. She had no media experience whatsoever before joining TASS.

Cherevik, on the other hand, did have some experience with the news agency. His career path was similar: he studied international economics at MGIMO, interned at Rosneft, and then worked as a TASS correspondent in Beijing (though only four news stories were found under his name there).

The investigation also revealed that before heading to Austria, Kukla and Cherevik ordered pizza nine times to an address on Tarusskaya Street. This address is known as a "registration point" for SVR military unit 28178, where 220 families of foreign intelligence officers and some Russian propaganda workers live.

The specific apartment where the pizza was delivered is believed to be an SVR safe house, used to prepare agents before they go on undercover missions.

Additionally, a phone number used by Cherevik was also used to order deliveries to Yasnogorskaya Street, to a building where government apartments were given out.

It was also discovered that shortly before going to Austria, Cherevik was in contact with Svetlana Strelkova. She's believed to have spied for Aeroflot in Germany and later became a professor at the SVR Academy, known for her deep knowledge of German-speaking European countries.

Austria and Vienna have long been key locations for Russian intelligence because many important international organizations have their headquarters there.