Wall Street Journal Reporter Arrested by Russian Spy Service

A reporter from the Wall Street Journal has been detained by Russia’s counterintelligence agency on espionage charges, which could result in a prison sentence of up to 20 years.

The Journal‘s reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained in Yekaterinburg by the Federal Security Service, also known as the FSB, on charges of collecting military secrets, according to a report from the paper on Thursday.

The Journal denied the allegations and called for the immediate release of Gershkovich, who had permission from Russia’s Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist. Before his arrest, Gershkovich was investigating a Russian private military group that was heavily involved in the Ukraine conflict.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused Gershkovich of U.S. government-backed espionage, stating that “What an employee of the American publication the Wall Street Journal was doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism.”

Russian law prohibits what the government considers false reporting on its military activities, making it difficult to report on the conflict in Ukraine from inside the country.

This arrest is just the latest sign of deteriorating relations between the U.S. and Russia. In 2018, former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan was arrested on espionage charges in Russia and is still imprisoned. Last year, the Biden administration sparked controversy by freeing WNBA player Brittney Griner in exchange for the release of notorious arms dealer Viktor Bout to Russia, leaving Whelan behind bars.