Austria expels 3 Russian Embassy staff over suspected antenna spying in Vienna

VIENNA — Austria expelled three Russian Embassy employees who were suspected of espionage by using antennas on Russian diplomatic buildings, the Foreign Ministry said Monday. The ministry confirmed a report aired Sunday by the Austrian public broadcaster ORF, which said Austrian authorities suspected the three diplomats of engaging in spying activities using antennas on the roofs of the Russian Embassy in Vienna and a diplomatic compound in the Donaustadt district. The installations allowed Russia to intercept data transmitted by international organizations based in Vienna via satellite internet, ORF reported. Austria hosts several U.N. agencies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. “Espionage is a security problem for Austria. In this government, we have changed course and are taking decisive action against it,” Austria’s Foreign Minister Beate Meinl-Reisinger said in a statement. “We have made this unequivocally clear to the Russian side, also with regard to the array of antennas at the Russian embassy. One thing is clear: it is unacceptable for diplomatic immunity to be used to engage in espionage.” Western European nations and Russia have expelled each others’ diplomats on several