Russia expels two American diplomats accused of espionage
On 14 September, the Russian Foreign Ministry informed US Ambassador Lynn Tracy of the announcement of the first and second secretaries of the American Embassy persona non grata in Russia due to alleged involvement in the collection of secret data.
Source: statement on the website of the Russian Foreign Ministry, quoted by European Pravda
Details: This decision concerns Jeffrey Sillin, the First Secretary of the US embassy in Moscow, and David Bernstein, the Second Secretary of the embassy.
They were ordered to leave the territory of Russia within 7 days.
Quote from the Russian Foreign Ministry: "These embassy employees conducted illegal activities by liaising with Russian citizen Robert Shonov, who has been accused of ‘confidential collaboration’ with a foreign state. He accepted money for fulfilling the missions aimed at undermining the national security of the Russian Federation."
Details: The names of two American diplomats appear in the investigation of the Russian Federal Security Service against Russian citizen Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, who was detained in August this year.
The FSB claims that since September 2022, in exchange for "material reward" Shonov has been collecting information about a full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, mobilisation in Russia, "problematic issues and an assessment of their impact on the protest activity of the population."
During the "interrogation," the video of which the FSB published at the end of August, Shonov allegedly admitted that he acted on the instructions of Sillin and Bernstein, employees of the political department of the US Embassy. The Russian side said they wanted to interrogate them.
Background:
This February, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs handed over a note to the US Embassy in Moscow, demanding "to stop interfering in their internal affairs," and threatened to expel American diplomats suspected of "subversive activities."
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