Italy expels two Russian embassy staff over spying case
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the expulsions follow arrests of two former Italian intelligence officers in a probe tied to classified leaks.
- On Thursday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced Italy's expulsion of two Russian military attaches from the Russian Embassy in Rome: Ivan Petrovich Gorbachev and Mikhail Vasilyevich Astakhov must leave within three days.
- Earlier this week, prosecutors detained two former Italian intelligence officers and Carabinieri members, Gavino Raoul Piras and Vincenzo Di Pasquale, suspected of passing classified national security information to an alleged Russian agent.
- Five other suspects are named in the case, including four military personnel accused of gathering state secrets and political or military espionage. The widening probe reveals the scope of the alleged espionage ring.
- Russia's Foreign Ministry stated it would give an "appropriate response" to the expulsion, signaling likely reciprocal measures against Italian personnel stationed in Moscow as diplomatic tensions escalate.
- Tajani said Moscow continued to employ "hybrid tools" against Italy and the West, describing this as "serious and unacceptable interference" that threatens national security.
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Italy ordered the expulsion of two Russian spies operating under diplomatic cover on Thursday, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced, condemning Moscow's "serious and unacceptable interference." The expulsion comes two days after the arrest of two former Italian intelligence agents who allegedly passed information to Russia regarding military aid to Ukraine.
Italy announced Thursday the expulsion of two agents from Russian intelligence services accredited in the country under diplomatic cover, after denouncing a...
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