Slovakia expels Russian diplomat over alleged espionage
Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said that an employee of the Russian Embassy was expelled to Russia on November 22.
Slovakia expelled a Russian diplomat due to alleged espionage. The Slovak government made a decision to expel the diplomat based on the data of military intelligence. Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini stated that the employee of the Russian Embassy was expelled on November 22 and he left the country within 48 hours. The name of the alleged spy has not been published. Russia has not commented on the statement of the Slovak Prime Minister.
On December 3, the Security Service of the Czech Republic published a report accusing Russia of cyber-attacks on the Czech Foreign Minister. The report describes Russia’s actions as a basic threat to the security of the Czech Republic – more dangerous than the actions of terrorist organizations, organized crime or extremist forces in the country.
In mid-November, the Austrian media reported that a military man was detained over alleged espionage for Russia since the late 1990s. The man allegedly provided to Russia information about the migration crisis, the Austrian military aviation and artillery systems to the Russian military intelligence. He had received about 300 thousand euros over 20 years of cooperation with Moscow. The man admitted his guilt, but he was not arrested.
In spring, a group of alleged Russian spies was detained in the Netherlands and expelled from the country. As a result, the United States, Great Britain, the Netherlands and a number of other countries accused Russian military intelligence of cyber-attacks around the world. Moscow denied all charges.