Putin’s spies have been thrown out of Europe in a major setback for Russia – a massive deportation of suspected agents

Putin’s spies have been thrown out of Europe in a major setback for Russia – a massive deportation of suspected agents

Putin’s spies have been thrown out of Europe in a major setback for Russia – a massive deportation of suspected agents
Advertisement

The disclosure comes on the heels of another embarrassing setback yesterday, when Ukraine revealed a list of over 600 names of Russian agents, many of whom are thought to have ties to European countries. With Western nations now focusing significantly on Russia as a result of the war in Ukraine, the expulsion of Russians adds another degree of misery to Putin’s choice to attack his southern neighbour.

Countries like as Belgium, Ireland, and the Netherlands have all declared Russian spies to be persona non grata.

Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes informed legislators that Belgium has dismissed 21 Russian diplomats for suspected espionage and security risks.

Ms Wilmes stated that the action was only for national security reasons, and that diplomatic contacts will remain open.

The 21 Russians worked at the Russian embassy in Brussels and the Russian consulate in Antwerp.

Advertisement

According to a ministry official, they were all accredited diplomats but were engaged in eavesdropping and influence operations.

Such activities are commonplace among intelligence organisations across the world.

The Netherlands, for its part, expelled 17 Russian intelligence agents who were also accredited diplomats in a coordinated operation with the rest of the EU.

According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry, the decision was made based on information from its own security services.

Ireland has requested four senior Russian Embassy employees to leave the country, while the Czech Republic has also dismissed one member of Russia’s diplomatic staff from its embassy in Prague.

The expelled Russian operatives would have 72 hours to 14 days to vacate their jobs and depart the country.

Advertisement

Russia has reacted by stating that it will return the gesture in kind in accordance with diplomatic tradition.

“Countermeasures will be implemented in regard to all unfriendly measures against Russian foreign institutions,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said, according to Russia’s RIA news agency.

Several Russian embassies released scathing remarks, with the embassy in Ireland calling the Irish government’s decision “arbitrary and groundless.”

The Belgian expulsions were “totally baseless,” according to the envoy, and will strike a significant harm to Russian-Belgian ties.

Separately, Russia’s foreign ministry condemned the expulsion of Russian diplomats from the Netherlands as a “unfriendly move” that demonstrated the Hague had no interest in “maintaining normal diplomatic lines of contact.”

“The Dutch have gone above and beyond in their determination to ‘strike’ the Russian embassy in a more severe way,” the ministry claimed.

Advertisement

Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin stated that the steps were done “in collaboration with other nations,” but that coordination across the EU had not been feasible.

“It has not been feasible to get all 27 EU countries to work on the same agenda.”

Advertisement
Advertisement
Read More News On

Catch all the Europe News News, International News, Breaking News Event and Latest News Updates on The BOL News


Download The BOL News App to get the Daily News Update & Follow us on Google News.


End of Article

Next Story