Russia's FSB security agency said Monday a former employee of the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok was charged in connection with allegations he collected information about the war in Ukraine and protests in Russia on behalf of the United States.
An FSB statement said Robert Shonov collected information going back to September 2022, including on Russia's military conscription campaign.
In May, the U.S. State Department condemned Shonov’s reported arrest, saying the allegations against him are "wholly without merit."
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Shonov worked at the consulate for more than 25 years before being employed by an outside agency that provided services to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.
"Mr. Shonov’s only role at the time of his arrest was to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources," Miller said. "His being targeted under the 'confidential cooperation' statute highlights the Russian Federation’s blatant use of increasingly repressive laws against its own citizens."
Ukraine's military Monday reported Russian missile attacks overnight, while Russia said Ukraine used several drones to target Russian territory.
Ukraine's military general staff said air defenses destroyed two Russian cruise missiles and two guided missiles, but that a civilian industrial facility was hit in the Poltava region.
Ukrainian presidential chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Telegram that the Poltava attack killed two people at a vegetable oil plant. Dmytro Lunin, the regional governor, said two other people were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Monday that Ukrainian troops had liberated the town of Robotyne. The area has been the site of fighting in the Zaporizhzhia region as Ukraine pushes to reclaim territory in a counter-offensive.
Russia's defense ministry said Monday it downed a Ukrainian drone in the Lyubertsy region, southeast of Moscow.
As with other recent drone attacks near the Russian capital, flight operations at airports in the region were temporarily disrupted.
Russia also reported destroying two Ukrainian drones over the Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine.
Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
"employee" - Google News
August 28, 2023 at 03:44PM
https://ift.tt/2skfAYr
Russia Says Former US Consulate Employee Charged with Spying - Voice of America - VOA News
"employee" - Google News
https://ift.tt/a1kerAx
https://ift.tt/goPT5Xa
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Russia Says Former US Consulate Employee Charged with Spying - Voice of America - VOA News"
Post a Comment