Austria is expelling four Russian diplomats for engaging in acts "incompatible" with international agreements, the Austrian Foreign Ministry reported on Feb. 2. Two of the diplomats worked at the Russian Embassy in Vienna, and the other two were from the Russian Permanent Mission to the UN, reads the report.
Austria declared the diplomats personae non gratae and ordered them to leave the country before Feb. 8.
The country's Foreign Ministry didn't specify what exactly the expelled Russian diplomats did, but its unnamed officials told Reuters that the case involved spying. One of the officials said that none of the diplomats was an ambassador.
Over 140 Russian diplomats are currently stationed in Austria, according to Reuters.
Richard Moore, head of British foreign intelligence, said in July 2022 that about 400 Russian intelligence officers working under diplomatic cover had been expelled from European countries since Russia started its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
This is half of the total number of Russian spies active in Europe, according to Moore.
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