Austria Expels Three Russian Diplomats over Spying Accusations

Austria expelled three Russian diplomats on accusations of spying. The diplomats have already left the country.

Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said they used a forest of antennas installed on the roofs of diplomatic buildings to gather information. A report by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation, confirmed by the foreign ministry, placed the antennas on the roof of the Russian embassy in Vienna and at a Russian diplomatic compound.

The Russian embassy called the expulsion an unjustified, politically motivated and unacceptable move. It said Moscow would respond harshly to the Austrian actions.

Antennas have long troubled Austrian intelligence services, according to ORF, because they let Russia intercept data sent via satellite internet by organizations, including international ones. Meinl-Reisinger said espionage is a security issue for Austria. She added that her government has changed course and is taking decisive action against it, especially the antennas at the Russian embassy. She called it unacceptable for diplomatic immunity to cover espionage.

The expulsions are the latest in a series of spying accusations against Russia in Austria and Germany. In January, former intelligence official Egisto Ott went on trial in Vienna in what was called the country's biggest spy case in years. Prosecutors charged him with handing information to Russian intelligence officers and to Jan Marsalek, the fugitive Wirecard executive, in return for payment. His lawyer, Anna Mair, has rejected the allegations.

Marsalek, an Austrian citizen, faces accusations of working as an asset for Russia's FSB security service. German police want him for fraud, and he is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice. He fled via Austria in 2020 and is believed to be in Moscow now. Ott's trial continues.

That same month, Germany expelled a person accused of spying for Russia and summoned the Russian ambassador. Germany's foreign ministry said on social media that it does not tolerate espionage, particularly under diplomatic cover.

Vienna has a long history as an espionage center. During the Cold War, neutral Austria near the Iron Curtain served as a listening post. Today it hosts United Nations headquarters and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Many countries maintain up to two diplomatic missions to these bodies plus an embassy, offering diplomatic immunity and spy cover.

Austria's latest Report on the Protection of the Constitution called Vienna one of the last spots for Russian signals intelligence in Europe. It linked this to the large number of Russian diplomatic staff in the capital.