The Russian security services (FSB) on Monday announced the arrest of a Russian national, a former US consular official in the country, accused of passing information about the war in Ukraine to Washington.
The FSB says in a statement that Robert Chonov, “a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok,” has since September 2022 “passed information about the conduct of the special military operation [na Ucrânia]mobilization [militar] in Russian regions” and data on “tricky issues” in Russia.
According to the services, the Russian citizen carried out the alleged activities “for material compensation” and at the request of “employees of the political department of the US embassy in Moscow”.
This “informer” from Washington, according to the FSB, is charged with “confidential cooperation with a foreign government”, an offense punishable by up to eight years in prison.
Russia’s Interfax news agency said the FSB had released a video of the suspect making a confession.
Russian authorities, especially since the offensive against Ukraine began in February 2022, have regularly arrested people accused of working for Kiev or carrying out espionage activities on behalf of Western governments.
Source: DN
