Czech govt expels 18 Russian diplomats over 2014 blast

873
Czech govt expels 18 Russian diplomats over 2014 blast

Summer breaks but the east is getting slightly colder

The Czech government said Saturday it will expel 18 Russian diplomats identified by local intelligence as secret agents of the Russian SVR and GRU services that are suspected of involvement in a 2014 explosion.

“Eighteen employees of the Russian embassy must leave our republic within 48 hours,” Foreign Minister Jan Hamacek told reporters.

Prime Minister Andrej Babis said Czech authorities had “clear evidence” linking GRU officers to an explosion in an ammunition warehouse in 2014 which left two people dead.

“We have good reason to suspect the involvement of GRU officers from unit 29155 in the explosion at the ammunition warehouse in Vrbetice” in the east of the country, Babis said.

He added he had received the information on Friday, without explaining why it had taken so long.

“The explosion led to huge material damage and posed a serious threat to the lives of many local people, but above all it killed two of our fellow citizens, fathers of families,” Babis said.

Hamacek, who is the interior minister and also an interim foreign minister after his predecessor was sacked earlier this week, said he was sorry the incident would “fundamentally damage Czech-Russian relations”.

“We are in a situation similar to that in Britain following the attempted poisoning in Salisbury in 2018,” he said, referring to the case of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal who survived a nerve agent poisoning in Britain.

Russia denied involvement but some 300 diplomats were sent home in subsequent tit-for-tat expulsions.

Hamacek said he had summoned Russian ambassador Alexander Zmeyevsky on Saturday evening to tell him about the decision.

On Thursday, the Czech Republic’s neighbour Poland said it had expelled three Russian diplomats for “carrying out activities to the detriment” of Poland.

Warsaw also expressed solidarity with the US, which earlier that day had announced sanctions and the expulsion of 10 Russian diplomats in retaliation for what Washington said was the Kremlin’s US election interference, a massive cyber attack and other hostile activity.

Prague (AFP)

Support Labour Heartlands

PLEASE HELP US KEEP GOING AD-FREE

This is a "Pay as You Feel" website.

Hey there! Thanks for stopping by. If you've enjoyed reading the articles on Labour Heartlands so far, We would be incredibly grateful if you could consider making a small donation. Labour Heathlands is not your typical news outlet. We are not here to simply regurgitate the daily news cycle, that's for the rest of them. Our focus is on delving deeper, uncovering the untold stories and shedding light on the issues that the mainstream media chooses to ignore.

Our unwavering commitment to journalistic integrity means that we are not influenced by any external forces. We are not beholden to PR companies, advertisers or press barons, and we refuse to let anyone dictate what we report on. Our editorial independence is sacrosanct, and our only allegiance is to the truth.

While we do not align ourselves with any particular political party, we stand firmly against corruption, injustice and the erosion of truth and the rule of law. We believe that accurate information is the lifeblood of a democracy and that facts are not up for debate.

Once again, thank you for your support – We truly couldn't do this without you!

PLEASE HELP US KEEP GOING AD-FREE