The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has charged a former employee of the United States consulate in the Russian Far East with espionage, alleging that he collected sensitive information on various matters, including the war in Ukraine, for the United States.The charges come amidst escalating tensions between the two nations and add to the growing list of Americans detained on espionage accusations in Russia.The suspect, identified as 62-year-old Russian national Robert Shonov, has been accused of relaying information to US embassy staff in Moscow regarding Russias conscription campaign and its impact on political discontent leading up to the 2024 presidential election, according to the Russian state news agency TASS.⚡️ Video of Arrest of Alleged 🇺🇸 Spy Robert ShonovEx-US Consulate employee Shonov is accused of gathering information to use against 🇷🇺.#Espionage | #Washington pic.twitter.com/uDvoaiALNn— RT_India (@RT_India_news) August 28, 2023Shonov was taken into custody from the far eastern city of Vladivostok in May and is currently being held at Moscows Lefortovo prison. No court date has yet been set for Shonovs trial, TASS reported.The FSB has announced its intention to question US embassy employees who had contact with Shonov. However, the US embassy dismissed the charges against Shonov, stating that his “only role at the time of his arrest was to compile media summaries of press items from publicly available Russian media sources”. US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the accusations were wholly without merit.Robert Shonov joins growing list of Americans arrested on espionage charges in RussiaShonovs case is similar to that of other Americans who have been detained in Russia on espionage charges. Evan Gershkovich, an American journalist working for the Wall Street Journal, was arrested in March and is also being held at Lefortovo prison. He faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted.Another American, Paul Whelan, has been imprisoned on espionage charges for over four years and was sentenced to 16 years in prison in June 2020.In a separate case, Marc Fogel, an American teacher at the Anglo-American school in Moscow, was sentenced to 14 years of hard labour in Russia, raising fears among his family members that his sentence amounts to a death sentence.
