The arrest of a Russian accused of transmitting information about Ukraine to Washington

Russia’s security services (FSB) said on Monday that they have arrested a Russian citizen, a former employee of US diplomacy in Russia, who is accused of passing information to the United States about the conflict in Ukraine.

The Federal Security Service said in a statement that Robert Chunov, “a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok,” was collecting information for US diplomacy from September 2022 until his arrest, on an unspecified date.

This information relates to “the conduct of a special military operation (in Ukraine), (military) mobilization in the Russian regions” and “problematic elements and an assessment of their impact on the protests of the population against the background of the presidential elections in Ukraine.” Russia in 2024.

According to the FSB, he carried out these alleged activities “for a fee” and at the request of “Political Service Officers of the US Embassy in Moscow Jeffrey Solen and David Bernstein”.

This “informant” coming from Washington, according to the Federal Security Service, is accused of “secret cooperation with a foreign government,” a crime punishable by eight years in prison.

Russia’s Interfax news agency claimed that the Federal Security Service published a video clip in which the suspect made confessions.

Especially since the start of the attack on Ukraine in February 2022, the Russian authorities have been arresting people accused of working for Kiev or carrying out espionage activities for Western governments on a regular basis.