Italy has arrested two former intelligence officers and expelled two Russian military attachés over what officials described as a systematic espionage operation funnelling state secrets to Moscow.
The arrests in Rome on Wednesday followed a counterintelligence investigation launched in May 2025 by Italy's domestic intelligence agency AISI. One suspect, a 59-year-old former carabinieri sub-officer, is accused of espionage, revealing state secrets, and computer intrusion after allegedly passing classified information to a Russian agent in exchange for money. Prosecutors say he gathered intelligence from six sources, including four active-duty military personnel. The suspects left the intelligence services in 2012 and 2013, and authorities also searched the homes of five additional individuals.
The government ordered the expulsion of Russian embassy staff members Ivan Petrovich Gorbachev and Mikhail Vasilyevich Astakhov, with Astakhov identified as the alleged handler who paid for the leaked information. Because Astakhov holds diplomatic immunity, he was expelled rather than arrested. Defence Minister Guido Crosetto called the case an example of the "everyday hybrid war" facing Italy, while praising the work of investigators.