According to information on the server of the Interfax agency, the detained correspondent is Ivan Gershkovich, he was arrested in Yekaterinburg.
“The Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation cracked down on the illegal activities of the correspondent of the Moscow bureau of the American Wall Street Journal, American citizen Ivan Gershkovich, born in 1991, suspected of espionage for the US government, accredited to the Russian Foreign Ministry” Russian intelligence said.
The Wall Street Journal has denied its reporter’s involvement in any espionage activities in Russia. He also expressed “deep concern for his safety.”
A spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said that Gershkovich was caught in the act, unrelated to his journalistic work. According to her, however, he used this as a cover, the servant reported RT.com.
#Russia correspondent to WSJ @employee He was arrested in Yekaterinburg on suspicion of “espionage in the interests of the US government,” Russia’s Federal Security Service said in a statement. pic.twitter.com/mJA8cpBmNg
– HannaLiubakova March 30, 2023
He was interested in the military industrial complex
The FSB alleges that the arrested journalist was carrying out orders from the US side and collecting information subject to state secrets. Specifically, he was said to be interested in an unnamed military-industrial complex, Interfax reports.
The editor of a world famous American newspaper faces a 20-year prison sentence in Russia for espionage.
On Wednesday, the local media had previously noted the disappearance of the journalist. pointing to Medusa Independent Portal. According to 66.ru, the young journalist came to Yekaterinburg for an article about the Wagner mercenary group, which is involved in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. PR specialist Yaroslav Chirchikov accompanied him to the city. He said Gershkovich had been working in Moscow for six years.
On Wednesday, local media reported that members of the security forces arrested a person by “raising a jacket over his head” in a restaurant in Yekaterinburg. Cherchikov said that Gershkovich could be the arrested.
Ivan Gershkovich has also worked for the AFP and The New York Times.
