Russia arrests Ukrainian journalist for alleged spying

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said in a statement on Monday that it detained Roman Sushchenko, who “purposefully collected state secret information on the activities of the Russian Armed forces and the National Guard troops, which could have harmed state defense capabilities if leaked abroad.”

The Moscow Lefortovsky Court had ordered the arrest of him on October 1, the Interfax news agency reported.

Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko is arrested in Moscow. (File photo)

The FSB has launched a criminal case against Sushchenko on charges of espionage.

The National News Agency of Ukraine or Ukrinform, Sushchenk’s employer, said early on Monday that the journalist has been working for it since 2002. It claimed that the Paris-based journalist was on vacation in Moscow last week.

Back in April, the Russian intelligence agency arrested a Ukrainian officer, saying he had been trained by the Ukrainian Security Forces and the US spy agency CIA.

Yuriy Ivanchenko’s mission was to approach an FSB employee by providing him with false information, paving the way for Ukrainian security forces and the CIA to arrest the Russian security official, according to the FSB.

Moscow and Kiev have been locked in a dispute since 2014, when Crimea declared independence from Ukraine and formally applied to become part of Russia.

A deadly conflict also broke out in Ukraine, when Kiev launched military operations to crack down on pro-Russia forces in eastern Ukraine.

More than 9,640 people have lost their lives and over 22,430 others sustained injuries since the conflict began in mid-April 2014, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said last month.