The "Wall Street Journal" journalist is arrested in Russia, risks 20 years in prison, here's what he's accused of

The highest security agency in Russia has declared that a journalist of the American medium Wall Street Journal has been arrested on suspicion of espionage. No evidence has been provided for these claims.

The Federal Security Service (FSB) — Russia's security and counterintelligence agency that succeeded the Soviet-era KGB agency — said Thursday that Evan Gershkovich was arrested in the Ural Mountains city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of trying to obtain classified information. .

Gershkovich is the first journalist from an American media outlet to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War. His arrest comes amid heightened tensions between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine.

The security service claims that Gershkovic "was acting on American orders to gather information about the activities of one of the enterprises of the Russian military industrial complex that constitutes a state secret." The FSB did not provide any evidence for these claims.

The FSB did not say when the arrest took place.
Gershkovich, 32, who is a US citizen, could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted of espionage.

Gershkovich reports on Russia and Ukraine as a correspondent in the Wall Street Journal's Moscow bureau. The FSB noted that he had accreditation from the Russian Foreign Ministry to work as a journalist.

His latest report from Moscow, published earlier this week, dealt with the slowdown in Russia's economy following sanctions imposed by Western nations following the entry of Russian troops into Ukraine last year.