Fayan Gershkovich, reporter for the Wall Street Journal, has been detained in Russia on suspicions of spying and espionage, according to the FBS.
The reporter was apprehended in Yekaterinburg, a city in the Ural Mountains, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the senior KGB replacement agency, on suspicion of attempting to obtain confidential material.
He was reporting on the Wagner mercenary group, the conflict in Ukraine, and changes in Russia. In his most recent article this week, Mr. Gershkovich discussed how the Kremlin was dealing with “ballooning military expenditures”.
Since the end of the Cold War, he is the first journalist from an American news organization to be arrested in Russia on suspicion of spying, and his arrest comes at a time of intense international unrest over the conflict in Ukraine.
The Wall Street Journal issued a statement in which it expressed its support for the journalist and his family, saying that it “vehemently rejects the charges from the FSB and seeks the prompt release of our valued and loyal reporter, Evan Gershkovich.”
However, according to Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry, Gershkovich’s claimed activities “were not related to journalism.” and the case is being reviewed.
