By Tucker Reals, CBS News–

The Dutch Minister of Defense said Thursday that the Netherlands defense and intelligence services, in conjunction with British partners, had disrupted a cyberattack operation by Russian military intelligence agents in April targeting the United Nations’ chemical weapons watchdog agency.Netherlands Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten made the announcement Thursday alongside Britain’s ambassador to the Netherlands, saying the alleged operation to attack the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was disrupted on April 13.

Dutch officials identified at least four men as Russian agents linked to the alleged GRU operation and said they had been expelled from the Netherlands immediately when the plot was thwarted in April. At the news conference on Thursday, the Dutch officials showed images of a rental vehicle that was discovered parked near the OPCW headquarters in The Hague, full of computer equipment and transformers used in the alleged plot.

The revelation of the plot and the successful thwarting of it came just hours after Britain’s Defense Minister Gavin Williamson, at a NATO summit with U.S. Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis and other allies, called Russia’s cyberattacks of recent years the “actions of a pariah state,” and vowed that NATO would “be exposing” Moscow’s nefarious acts.

British Ambassador to the Netherlands Peter Wilson said the plot against the OPCW showed “complete disregard” by Russia to the agency’s mission to investigate illegal chemical weapons attacks around the world. He noted that the plot was disrupted in April as the OPCW worked to confirm Britain’s allegations that GRU agents attempted to murder Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal in England, and to confirm an alleged chemical attack by Syria’s Russian-backed military in Douma, Syria.

Dutch Defense Minister Bijleveld-Schouten said the Russian intelligence officers had also targeted the Netherlands-based investigation into the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 over Ukraine.

“We have been aware of the interest of Russian intelligence services in this investigation and have taken appropriate measures.” she said. “We remain very alert about this.”

Ambassador Wilson said Britain and the Netherlands would be “stepping up our combined activity against” the GRU. We will shine a light on their activities. We will expose their methods, and we will share this with our allies.” He said increased sanctions against Russia would be sought in retaliation for Moscow’s “malign activity.”

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.