The Russian security services (FSB) said on Monday that they had arrested a Russian citizen, a former employee of American diplomacy in Russia, accused of having transmitted to the United States information on the conflict in Ukraine. In a statement, the FSB said that Robert Chonov, "ex-employee of the American Consulate General in Vladivostok", had collected since September 2022 until his arrest, on an unspecified date, information for American diplomacy.
This information concerned "the conduct of the special military operation [in Ukraine], the [military] mobilization in the Russian regions" and "the problematic elements and the assessment of their influence on the protests of the population in view of the presidential election in Russia in 2024”.
According to the FSB, he carried out these alleged activities "for material compensation" and at the request of "employees of the political service of the American Embassy in Moscow Jeffrey Sullin and David Bernstein". This Washington "informant", according to the FSB, is charged with "confidential collaboration with a foreign government", a crime punishable by eight years in prison. Russia's Interfax news agency claimed the FSB released a video in which the suspect made a confession.
Russian authorities, especially since the start of the offensive against Ukraine in February 2022, very regularly arrest people accused of working for kyiv or carrying out espionage activities for the benefit of Western governments.
