A US reporter for the Wall Street Journal newspaper was held in Russia on suspicion of espionage, according to reports from Russian media on Thursday, which cited the FSB security service.
“The FSB halted the illegal activities of US citizen Gershkovich Evan … a correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal, accredited with the Russian foreign ministry, suspected of spying in the interests of the American government,” the security services were cited as saying by Russian agencies.
The agencies said that the WSJ reporter is “suspected of spying in the interests of the American government” and of collecting information “on an enterprise of the Russian military-industrial complex.”
The Wall Street Journal hired Gershkovich, 31, who was formerly employed by AFP in Moscow. He has also worked as a correspondent for the English-language news website The Moscow Times. Russian is spoken by Gershkovich. Despite being from the Soviet Union, his parents now reside in the United States.
Tensions between the United States and Russia are likely to rise as a result of the reporter’s imprisonment. The detention of Gershkovich may have an effect on Moscow’s relations with the US as well as its foreign media coverage of the conflict.
Gershkovich is the most high-profile American detained by Russia since basketball player Brittney Griner in 2012. The footballer was apprehended with cannabis oil in Moscow a week before the invasion of Ukraine and was released in a prisoner swap in December of last year.
The new travel recommendation from the US Embassy advises US citizens not to travel to Russia due to the risk of arbitrary arrest. It further requests that US people living or traveling in Russia leave immediately.