A Russian who worked at a US consulate is accused of collecting information for US diplomats

MOSCOW — Russia’s most sensible home safety company stated Monday that a detained former worker of the U.S. Consulate in Vladivostok is accused of collecting information about Russia’s motion in Ukraine and comparable problems for U.S. diplomats.

Russia’s Federal Security Service, or FSB, the rustic’s major home safety company, stated Robert Shonov is suspected of “gathering information about the special military operation, mobilization processes in Russian regions, problems and the assessment of their influence on protest activities of the population in the runup to the 2024 presidential election.”

The FSB, the highest KGB successor, stated it has served summonses to query two U.S. diplomats who allegedly steered Shonov to assemble the information.

Shonov’s arrest was once first reported in May, however Russian government supplied no main points at the time. The U.S. State Department has condemned his arrest.

Shonov was once charged below a new article of Russian regulation that criminalizes “cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state, international or foreign organization to assist their activities clearly aimed against Russia’s security.” Kremlin critics have said that the formulation is so broad that it could be used to punish any Russian who had foreign connections. It carries a prison sentence of up to eight years.

The U.S. State Department has said Shonov worked at the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok for more than 25 years. The consulate closed in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and never reopened.

The State Department has said that after a Russian government order in April 2021 required the dismissal of all local employees in U.S. diplomatic outposts in Russia, Shonov worked at a company the U.S. contracted with to support its embassy in Moscow.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in May that Shonov’s only role at the time of his arrest was “to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources” and argued that his arrest “highlights the Russian Federation’s blatant use of an increasing number of repressive rules towards its personal electorate.”

Russian news reviews have stated that Shonov was once being held in Moscow’s Lefortovo jail.

Also held in Lefortovo is Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal. Gershkovich has been in custody since his March 29 arrest by means of Russia’s safety carrier on espionage fees that he, his employer and the U.S. govt have denied.

Gershkovich’s arrest rattled reporters in Russia and drew outrage within the West. The United States has declared Gershkovich to be “wrongfully detained” and demanded his quick unlock.