In a tit-for-tat move, Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Austrian Ambassador Werner Almhofer on February 16 and informed him that four diplomats at the Austrian Embassy in Moscow were declared as persona non grata and must leave the country before February 23. The move comes two weeks after Austria ordered four Russian diplomats to leave the country until February 8. European Union member states have cracked down on suspected Russian spies since Moscow launched its ongoing unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February last year.
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