Russia's FSB Says Stopped Illegal Activity of Informant of US Embassy in Moscow - Shonov

MOSCOW, (Sputnik) - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Monday that it had stopped the illegal activities of the informant of the US Embassy in Moscow and an ex-employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, Russian citizen Robert Shonov.

Shonov faces charges related to alleged confidential collaboration with a foreign state or organization aimed at undermining Russia's national security, according to the Lefortovo court that prolonged his arrest for three more months in May.

"The Russian Federal Security Service stopped the illegal activities of an informant of the US Embassy in Moscow, a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, Russian citizen Shonov Robert Robertovich, he was charged with committing a crime under article 275.1 of the criminal code of Russia 'Cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state,'" the FSB said in a statement.

Since September 2022 until the arrest in March 2023, Shonov had been carrying out tasks of the employees of the political department of the US Embassy in Moscow, Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein for material reward, the statement read. In particular, he was instructed to "collect information on the progress of the special military operation, mobilization processes in the regions of Russia, on problematic moments and assess their influence on the protest activity of the population on the eve of the presidential elections in Russia in 2024."

The two US diplomats are to be interrogated in the case of informant Shonov, the FSB said, adding that in this regard, corresponding subpoenas have been sent to the embassy in Moscow.