The Netherlands Tuesday expelled 17 Russian intelligence officers, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra. In a statement via Twitter, Hoekstra said the officers operated in the Netherlands “under diplomatic cover” and were “a threat to the security” of the nations. According to TASS, a Russian state-affiliated news outlet, the 17 officers were “accredited as diplomats in Russian diplomatic missions.”

Hoekstra noted that the Netherlands’ action was taken “in coordination with other like-minded” nations. The North Macedonia Ministry of Foreign Affairs Monday announced that five staff members of the Russian embassy “were declared persona non grata” and given five days to leave the country for “engaging in activities contrary to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.”

Nederland wijst 17 Russische inlichtingenofficieren uit die onder diplomatiek dekmantel verbonden zijn aan de Russische vertegenwoordigingen in NL. Dat gebeurt n.a.v. informatie van de AIVD en MIVD. Deze inlichtingenofficieren zijn een bedreiging voor de veiligheid van NL. 1/2

— Wopke Hoekstra (@WBHoekstra) March 29, 2022

Similarly, Poland’s Internal Security Agency (ABW) identified 45 individuals with diplomatic status in Poland as “Russian special services officers and their associates.” The director of the ABW requested “urgent” expulsion for all 45 individuals.

The Russian Foreign Ministry called the Polish action a “move towards the ultimate break of bilateral relations.”