Russia suffered a new blow to its spy network in Europe: more than 40 will be sent back to Moscow

The EU countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and the Czech Republic announced on Tuesday the expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats suspected of espionage, in a coordinated action taken in the shadow of the Moscow war in Ukraine.

Belgian Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes said her country was expelling 21 diplomats from the Russian embassy in Brussels and the consulate in Antwerp, giving them two weeks to leave.

She said the move was taken in conjunction with neighboring Holland, whose Foreign Ministry said it was expelling 17 Russian diplomats considered “secretly active” as intelligence officers.

Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said that four “senior officials” of the Russian embassy in Dublin had been told to leave because they participated in activities “that do not... are in accordance with international standards of diplomatic conduct”, code of espionage.

And the Czech Foreign Ministry said that a diplomat from the Russian embassy in Prague had been given 72 hours to leave. A Czech official told AFP that the diplomat was the deputy ambassador of Russia.

“Together with our allies, we are reducing the presence of Russian intelligence in the EU,” the Czech ministry tweeted.

The EU countries were preparing for Russia to retaliate by ordering the departure of some of its own diplomats.

The expulsions announced on Tuesday increased Western coups aimed at Russia following its invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Several rounds of sanctions designed primarily by the EU and the US. The US has already severely undermined Russia's economy.

Russia now considers all EU countries, along with the United States and its allies, including Japan, Britain and Australia, as “hostile” countries.

Following the invasion of Russia, the United States expelled 12 Russian diplomats based in New York in early March, which it considered “intelligence agents.”

Russia retaliated last week by giving the United States a list of US diplomats declared “persona non grata”.

Poland, an EU country neighboring Ukraine, last week expelled 45 Russian diplomats for alleged espionage, prompting Moscow to accuse Warsaw of embarking on “a dangerous escalation.”

In April of last year, the Czech Republic expelled dozens of Russian diplomats and Russia retaliated in an eye for an eye wave. Previously, Prague had accused the Russian secret services of orchestrating explosions at an ammunition depot in the eastern Czech Republic that killed two people in 2014.

Russia was virtually isolated at the United Nations General Assembly on 2 March this year when an overwhelming majority of countries, 141 in all, voted to adopt a non-binding resolution demanding the cessation of the Moscow war in Ukraine.

Only five countries voted against the resolution: Russia, Syria, North Korea, Belarus and Eritrea. Another 35 abstained, including China

Two days later, on March 4, the UN Human Rights Council voted to launch an investigation into violations committed in the Ukrainian war. Thirty-two of the 47 council members voted in favor, and only Russia and Eritrea voted against

Two weeks ago, Russia announced that it would resign from another international forum on rights, the Council of Europe, just before the pan-European body based in Strasbourg said it would expel Russia.

(with information from AFP)

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