US journalist from Wall Street Journal arrested in Russia
US journalist Evan Gershkovich, 31, is arrested in Russia on suspicion of spying after visiting Yekaterinburg to write about the feared Wagner group for the Wall Street Journal
- The FSB said Evan Gershkovich was held over alleged ‘illegal activities’
- He was ‘acting on instructions’ from the US government, it was alleged
A US journalist has been detained in Russia suspected of espionage, the FSB state security service said.
Evan Gershkovich, 31, was held in Yekaterinburg in the Urals where he was on an assignment for The Wall Street Journal.
The reporter – an accredited foreign correspondent in Moscow – was held over alleged ‘illegal activities’ and was ‘suspected of espionage for the US government’, said the FSB.
The Journal said in a statement: ‘The Wall Street Journal vehemently denies the allegations from the FSB and seeks the immediate release of our trusted and dedicated reporter, Evan Gershkovich. We stand in solidarity with Evan and his family.’
Gershkovich was allegedly ‘engaged in the collection of information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex’ which constitute ‘state secrets’.
Sources confirmed to Yekaterinburg publication It’s My City that the journalist for The Wall Street Journal had been detained
PMC Wagner mercenaries pose at Popasna (file photo). Russian reports suggest Gershkovich had gone to Yekaterinburg to write about the attitude of people to the war unleashed by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine, and the recruitment of locals for the Wagner private military company
He was ‘acting on instructions’ from the US government, it was alleged.
‘While trying to obtain secret information, an American was detained in Yekaterinburg,’ said the FSB which provided no evidence for its accusations.
The FSB is the main domestic security and counterintelligence agency that is the top successor agency to the Soviet era KGB.
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman prejudged Evan Gershkovich before any investigation or trial – claiming he had been ‘caught red-handed’.
‘There was already a statement from the FSB,’ he said.
‘The only thing I can say is that, as far as we know, he was caught red-handed.’
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Pictured: Yevgeny Prigozhin, head of the Wagner group
He did not elaborate on what he meant by ‘red-handed’.
Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also implied the journalist was guilty before any due process.
‘What an employee of the American edition of The Wall Street Journal was doing in Yekaterinburg has nothing to do with journalism,’ she said.
‘Unfortunately, this is not the first time that the status of ‘foreign correspondent’, a journalistic visa and accreditation, are used by foreigners in our country to cover up activities that are not journalism.
‘This is not the first well-known Westerner to be ‘grabbed by the hand’.’
Reports suggest Gershkovich was held last night at the Bukowski Grill restaurant and led by plain-clothed officers to a waiting vehicle with a sweater pulled over his head.
Russian reports suggest he had gone to Yekaterinburg to write about the attitude of people to the war unleashed by Putin in Ukraine, and the recruitment of locals for the Wagner private military company.
There was concern for Gershkovich when he failed to make contact with his editorial office.
He has lived in Moscow for six years, working as a journalist.
He is a US citizen born to parents from the Soviet Union.
Local sources said Gershkovich had made a trip to the city several weeks ago and had returned this week.
Before joining The Wall Street Journal, Gershkovich worked for AFP in Moscow.
He was previously a reporter based in the Russian capital for The Moscow Times, an English-language news website.
Russia has seldom made allegations of espionage against Western correspondents accredited to the country.
However, many accredited correspondents from Western media outlets left the country when the war started 13 months ago amid concerns it was unsafe to remain.
Political analyst Tatiana Stanovaya suggested Gershkovich had been ‘taken hostage’ by the FSB.
Moscow has been accused in the past of arresting foreigners – especially Americans – to use in barter exchanges for Russians detained in the US.
Spying convictions can lead to up to 20-year jail sentences.
Gershkovich’s arrest comes amid the bitter tensions between Moscow and Washington over the fighting in Ukraine.
Several US citizens are currently in detention in Russia and both Washington and Moscow have accused the other of carrying out politically-motivated arrests.
The FSB in January opened a criminal case against a US citizen it said was suspected of espionage but did not name the individual.
Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, was arrested in Russia in 2018 and handed a 16-year sentence on espionage charges. He is detained in a penal colony south of Moscow.
The reporter – an accredited foreign correspondent in Moscow – was held over alleged ‘illegal activities’ and was ‘suspected of espionage for the US government’, said the FSB
Yekaterinburg, where Gershkovich was detained, is a city in the Sverdlovsk oblast region, west-central Russia
Gershkovich was allegedly ‘engaged in the collection of information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex’ which constitute ‘state secrets’
Gershkovich was ‘acting on instructions’ from the US government, it was alleged
‘While trying to obtain secret information, an American was detained in Yekaterinburg,’ said the FSB which provided no evidence for its accusations
There was concern for Gershkovich when he failed to make contact with his editorial office
Pictured: Evan Gershkovich.Moscow has been accused in the past of arresting foreigners – especially Americans – to use in barter exchanges for Russians detained in the US
Reports suggest he was held last night at the Bukowski Grill restaurant and led by plain-clothed officers to a waiting vehicle with a sweater pulled over his head
Pictured: The Bukowski Grill, where Gershkovich is reported to have been taken away by plain-clothed officers
The US says he was a private citizen visiting Moscow on personal business and has demanded his release.
There have been several high-profile prisoner exchanges between Moscow and Washington over the past year.
In December, Moscow freed US basketball star Brittney Griner – arrested for bringing cannabis oil into the country – in exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Russian authorities have also used espionage charges against Russian journalists.
Last year, Russia jailed a respected defence reporter, Ivan Safronov, for 22 years on treason charges.
Safronov worked for business newspapers Kommersant and was one of Russia’s most prominent journalists covering defence.
Gershkovich’s arrest comes as Western journalists in Russia face increasing restrictions.
Staff of Western media outlets often report being tailed, particularly during trips outside of major urban hubs of Moscow and Saint Petersburg.
Many Russians fear speaking to foreign media, due to strict censorship laws adopted in the wake of the Ukraine offensive.
The Wagner Group, one of the subjects Gershkovich is reported to have been writing on, is led by close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Wagner mercenaries are deployed to further Russian interests abroad by doing the jobs that no official military branch could be associated with and have earned a reputation for using sheer force and brutality to achieve their goals.
Prigozhin, 61, the chief financier and founder of PMC Wagner, claims his contractors are deployed across the border to help achieve the Russian president’s goal – the so-called ‘denazification’ of Ukraine.
The group has for years acted as Putin’s personal band of enforcers, though it maintains connections with Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, the GRU.
Founded in 2014, Wagner contractors got straight to work following the annexation of Crimea, arming and organizing separatist groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine and setting in motion events which culminated earlier this year in Putin’s full-scale invasion of his neighbor.
What is the Wagner Group?
Private Military Company (PMC) Wagner is a mercenary group headed up by Russian oligarch and close Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
The group has for years acted as Putin’s personal band of enforcers, though it maintains connections with Russia’s foreign military intelligence agency, the GRU.
Founded in 2014 by a sinister former lieutenant colonel of Russia’s ‘Spetsnaz’ special forces, Dmitry Utkin, Wagner got straight to work following the annexation of Crimea, arming and organising separatist groups in the Donbas region of Ukraine.
Wagner group insignia is pictured
In the eight years between Crimea’s annexation and all-out war in Ukraine, Wagner mercs have been deployed abroad to covertly further Russian interests.
They were implicated in the Russian intervention in Syria where they helped to prop up the Assad regime, and went on to operate in countries throughout Africa including Mali, Central African Republic, Mozambique and Sudan.
Their goals differ in each region, but assignments almost invariably involve bolstering the military forces of the Kremlin’s preferred regimes by delivering weapons and training, and providing additional security services.
In return, Russia gains access to natural resources, investment opportunities and geopolitical influence.
Yevgeny Prigozhin (left) is the chief financier of the Wagner group and is a close ally of Russian President Putin (right)
An integral part of most Wagner assignments is gaining control over the local population and elements hostile to the regime – something in which the mercenaries have proved particularly ruthless.
The mercenaries have garnered a reputation for violence and brutality, achieving their goals by any means necessary.
The Wagner group is now deployed in a fighting capacity alongside regular Russian army soldiers in Ukraine, and has been credited with achieving much of Moscow’s success on the frontlines.
In autumn 2022, Prigozhin embarked on a mass recruitment drive in Russian prisons, signing up hardened criminals to swell his ranks and deploy them en-masse in Ukraine on suicidal missions to gain ground by using ‘human wave’ tactics.
As of March 2023, the Wagner group is receiving less support from the Russian military, as Prigozhin has a poor relationship with Russian armed forces commander Valery Gerasimov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu.
But his fighters are still heavily involved in combat operations across the frontlines in Ukraine.
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