NATO has expelled eight members of Russia's mission to the military alliance, saying that they were secretly working as intelligence officers. "We can confirm that we have withdrawn the accreditation of eight members of the Russian Mission to NATO, who were undeclared Russian intelligence officers," a NATO official said. NATO also reduced the number of positions that Russia can accredit people for at the organization from 20 down to 10, the official said. Relations between NATO and Russia have been increasingly strained since Moscow annexed Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014. "NATO proposed to hold another meeting of the NATO-Russia Council over 18 months ago, and that proposal stands.

Source: CBC News October 06, 2021 18:11 UTC