Amir Tsarfati

"A Den of Spies": Extensive coverage in the Wall Street Journal of how Vienna, the capital of Austria, became Russia's largest espionage stronghold in Europe. In the last year, the number of Russian diplomats and envoys in Austria increased from 400-300 to more than 500, and at least half of them work as spies - this is at the same time as the removal of about 600 Russian diplomats from other countries on the continent. For example, Germany closed the Russian consulate in Munich for fear of espionage - and the consulate employees simply moved to operate from Salzburg in Austria. Austrian and European sources said Vienna had become a center for Russian operations - including sabotage attempts, assassinations and the recruitment of agents. Disturbingly, espionage is not considered illegal in Austria - provided it is not directed against the Austrian state. Austrian intelligence sources who were interviewed for the article claimed that the country's security services manage to deal with the challenge well.

www.tgoop.com/beholdisraelchannel/34533

147.0K viewsJun 28 at 07:05

"A Den of Spies": Extensive coverage in the Wall Street Journal of how Vienna, the capital of Austria, became Russia's largest espionage stronghold in Europe. In the last year, the number of Russian diplomats and envoys in Austria increased from 400-300 to more than 500, and at least half of them work as spies - this is at the same time as the removal of about 600 Russian diplomats from other countries on the continent. For example, Germany closed the Russian consulate in Munich for fear of espionage - and the consulate employees simply moved to operate from Salzburg in Austria. Austrian and European sources said Vienna had become a center for Russian operations - including sabotage attempts, assassinations and the recruitment of agents. Disturbingly, espionage is not considered illegal in Austria - provided it is not directed against the Austrian state. Austrian intelligence sources who were interviewed for the article claimed that the country's security services manage to deal with the challenge well.

BY Amir Tsarfati