Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized Kremlin officials to arrest American journalist Evan Gershkovich on espionage charges, according to Bloomberg News.
Russian authorities arrested Gershkovich, 31, last month while he was on a reporting trip in Yekaterinburg, located in the Ural Mountains — becoming the first arrest of an American journalist on espionage charges since 1986.
The outlet reported that sources familiar with the matter said Putin’s arrest of the Wall Street Journal reporter marks “the growing influence of Kremlin hardliners who push for deepening a confrontation with Washington they view as irreversible.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry claimed the United States was politicizing Gershokovich’s detention, saying, “it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the Western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political colouring.”
“Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian…
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