A US-Russian dual citizen has been arrested in Russia on charges of treason for allegedly collecting money for Ukrainian organizations and openly supporting Kyiv.
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) said the unnamed 33-year-old woman, who lived in Los Angeles, was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg for “providing financial assistance to a foreign state in activities directed against” Russian security. Yekaterinburg is about 1,100 miles east of Moscow.
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“Since February 2022, she has proactively collected funds in the interests of one of the Ukrainian organizations, which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medicine, equipment, weapons and ammunition by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the FSB said in a statement released Tuesday.
It also accused the woman of taking part in “public actions in support of the Kyiv regime” while in the US.
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“Operational search activities and investigative actions continue. The court chose a preventive measure in the form of detention for the accused,” the statement added.
CNN has contacted the US Embassy in Moscow and the US State Department for comment.
Moscow has detained several US citizens in recent years, some of whom have been exchanged for Russian prisoners held in Western countries.
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The FSB arrested American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, in Yekaterinburg in March last year on charges of espionage, which he, his employer and the US government have strenuously denied.
The Moscow City Court on Tuesday rejected Gershkovich’s lawyers appeal and has upheld his pretrial detention until March 30.
“Having considered the appeal against the decision of the Lefortovo District Court of Moscow to extend the…
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