Austria expels three Russian embassy staff on suspicion of spying

<p>Austrian foreign minister says ‘forest of antennae’ at mission in Vienna being used for illicit collection of data</p><p>Austria has expelled three Russian embassy staff on suspicion of spying after determining that a “forest of antennae” on the diplomatic mission in Vienna, Europe’s espionage capital since the cold war, was being be used for illicit data collection.</p><p>“It is unacceptable that diplomatic immunity be used to commit espionage,” Austria’s foreign minister, Beate Meinl-Reisinger, said on Monday. She added that the three embassy staff – whose expulsions bring the number of Russian diplomats sent home by Vienna to 14 since 2020 – had already left the country.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/04/austria-expels-three-russian-embassy-staff-vienna-suspicion-of-spying">Continue reading...</a>