Austria declared four Vienna-based Russian diplomats personae non gratae on Friday, ordering them to leave the country over activities incompatible with their diplomatic status, a phrase commonly used to denote espionage.
The Austrian foreign ministry said the decision was based on findings by the country's security authorities. Three of the expelled officials worked at Russia's embassy to Austria. One was a delegate at the Russian mission to the OSCE handling military security and arms control, the ministry said in a statement.
The expulsions raise to 18 the total of Russian diplomats Austria has ordered out since 2020, Daily Maverick reported. While Austria is formally neutral, its governments have backed Ukraine politically since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022.
Russia's foreign ministry warned that an "inevitable" response would follow, Russian state news agency TASS reported, according to The Kyiv Independent. The Russian embassy in Vienna did not immediately comment.
In May, Austria expelled three Russian diplomats over what it described as an "antenna forest" atop Russian diplomatic buildings that could serve signals intelligence, The Straits Times reported. Vienna is home to the OSCE and UN agencies including the International Atomic Energy Agency, and has long been regarded as a centre for intelligence activity.