Russian spies have been making the headlines recently.

In mid-April, Germany reported capturing two Russian “Spionen” — identified as Dieter S. and Alexander J. — “accused of scouting targets for potential attacks, including U.S. military facilities.” One of the men had served with the militia of the unrecognized Donetsk People’s Republic and is therefore also charged with being a member of a terrorist organization. In late 2022, one Carsten L., an agent of Germany’s intelligence service no less, was arrested for passing information to an unnamed Russian spy agency.

Also in April, Polish authorities arrested Pawel K. for “being ready to help Russia’s military intelligence in an alleged plot to assassinate Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky.” A few weeks earlier, on March 29, Austria arrested one of its former intelligence officers, Egisto Ott, alleging that “he handed over cellphone data of former high-ranking Austrian officials to Russian intelligence, helped plot a burglary at a prominent journalist’s apartment, and wrote up ‘suggestions for improvement’ after a Russian-ordered killing in Germany.”

Ever since the Cold War and Austria’s division into four occupation zones, Vienna has served as a “nest of spies.” As a 2023 Financial Times report put it, “There are still more than 180 accredited Russian diplomats in Vienna … and at least a third of them are known to be using diplomatic cover for intelligence-gathering activities. Many more are now operating in the country........

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