An ex-colonel of the country's armed forces was detained in Austria on charges of spying for Russia, TASS reported.

Later, the informations was confirmed by Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.

According to the newspaper,  the colonel was supposed to collect information about the Austrian Air Force, artillery systems, the migration crisis, as well as detailed information on a number of high-ranking military. Every two weeks he contacted the Russian side with a man known as “Yuri.”

The man from Salzburg reportedly began working for Moscow in the 1990s and received 300 thousand euros.

Kurz and Austrian Defense Minister Mario Kunasek will have a brief statement over the latest developments.

The head of the Austrian Foreign Ministry summoned a Russian representative to the department, and also canceled his trip to Moscow.

The Russian embassy declined to comment on this regard.