FSB arrests former employee of U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok

The Federal Security Service (FSB) has announced the detention of Robert Shonov, a former employee of the U.S. Consulate General in Vladivostok, on charges of collecting information on mobilization, the progress of the “special military operation,” and protest activity in the run-up to the presidential election.

Shonov, the FSB said in a statement quoted by Interfax, allegedly collected information at the behest of “Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein, employees of the political department of the U.S. Embassy in Moscow.”

Shonov has been charged with committing a crime under Article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code (“Cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state”). The law provides for a prison sentece of three to eight years with a fine of up to one million rubles (around $10,400).

Shonov pleaded guilty, TASS reports, publishing a video of his confession which provided by the FSB. The footage shows that Shonov was detained several months ago — the footage of him being led out of his home shows snow.