Austria has declared three Russian diplomats persona non grata over a “forest of antennas” on the roofs of diplomatic buildings that could be used for espionage, the government said.
“It is unacceptable that diplomatic immunity is used for espionage,” Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger was quoted by Reuters as saying.
She confirmed that three diplomats have already left the country.
Thus Austria has expelled 14 Russian diplomats since 2020.
The Russian side has not yet commented on this message.
The newspaper Die Presse writes that in April Austria demanded the cancellation of diplomatic immunity for three embassy staff, but Russia did not fulfil this demand.
Earlier media reported that satellite equipment installed at the Russian embassy in Vienna and other Russian diplomatic buildings could have been used to intercept data of international organisations headquartered in the Austrian capital.
In September 2025, the Austrian Foreign Ministry declared a Russian diplomat persona non grata in connection with the case of a top executive of the OMV oil and gas company suspected of working for Russian intelligence services.
According to media reports, the dismissed OMV employee had been under surveillance by Austrian state security for several months, meeting with a Russian diplomat whom Western intelligence agencies believe to be an agent of Russia’s FSB. During searches of the Austrian’s home, secret documents were found.
Russia put Austria on the list of unfriendly states for the sanctions imposed on Moscow for the invasion of Ukraine.