According to the Russian domestic secret service FSB, a criminal case has been launched against a US citizen on suspicion of espionage. The person is accused of collecting biological intelligence information, which endangers the national security of the Russian Federation, the FSB said on Thursday.
The Secret Service did not disclose who it was or whether the person has been arrested. Several US citizens have been arrested in Russia in recent years. Some of them were released as part of a prisoner exchange.
Suspected spies usually end up in jail
However, the charge of espionage is particularly serious in Russia, so suspected spies are relatively rarely released. Former US Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018 on espionage charges and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020, is still in prison. American basketball player Brittney Griner, convicted of drug possession, was released in December.
Not least because of the war in Ukraine, relations between Russia and the US have deteriorated. According to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, they will not be the same again. The US government has broken off talks on a strategic dialogue between the two countries, Lavrov told the Moscow press on Wednesday.
Source: Krone
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