An American reporter for the Wall Street Journal, a leading American newspaper, has been arrested on suspicion of espionage in Russia. In response, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken strongly criticized the Russian side, saying that it was "deeply concerned," and the confrontation between the two countries has deepened.
The Russian security agency FSB = Federal Security Service announced on the 30th that it had detained a reporter of the influential American newspaper "Wall Street Journal" on suspicion of espionage.
Federal Security Service said the detained was Evan Geruszkovich, a correspondent of U.S. nationality in Moscow, who was born in 1991. On top of that, he was detained in the central city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of "conducting espionage activities to collect information on the Russian defense industry for the US government."
Russia's state news agency later reported that a Moscow court decision arrested Gershkovich, which under Russia's penal code could result in up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.
The Wall Street Journal issued a statement saying, "We strongly reject the FSB's claims and call for his immediate release."
In addition, U.S. Secretary of State Blinken issued a statement on the 30th, stressing that "we are deeply concerned about the detention of American journalists, and we condemn in the strongest terms the Russian government's attempts to suppress and punish journalists and others."
The Associated Press reported that this is the first time an American reporter has been detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage since the end of the Cold War, and the confrontation between the two countries has deepened since Russia's military invasion of Ukraine began.