Russian President Vladimir Putin announced this in an interview with Tucker Carlson, published on the website of the American television journalist.
“You know, you can say whatever you want about what a spy is and what is not a spy, but there are certain things provided for by law. If a person receives secret information and does it on a secret basis, then this is called espionage. This is exactly what he did: he received closed, secret information, and he did it secretly,” Putin said.
Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg on March 30, 2023 for espionage. According to the Russian FSB, the journalist, on instructions from the United States, collected information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex.
Later, the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow extended Gershkovich’s arrest until the end of March.