Russia’s Federal Security Service announced it has detained a Chita resident on suspicion of treason, identifying the suspect as a former freelance correspondent for RFE/RL’s Russian service, the Russian state news agency TASS reported.
The suspect, born in 1960, joined a Telegram community controlled by Ukraine’s Security Service in order to assist the Ukrainian side, the FSB said. The FSB claimed he passed along information about the media resources of a local print outlet covering the war in Ukraine, as well as information about a regional critical infrastructure facility, with the aim of enabling cyberattacks against them.
The FSB searched his home and seized computers and communications equipment containing “evidence of activities directed against Russia’s security.” A court ordered him held in custody.
The FSB did not name the suspect.
In February 2020, Russia’s Justice Ministry designated RFE/RL’s Russian service a foreign agent. In February 2025, the Prosecutor General’s Office declared it an undesirable organization.
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