Ukrainian citizen detained on North Ossetian-Georgian border – Russian media

A Ukrainian citizen is reported to have been detained at the Verkhny Lars checkpoint in North Ossetia (part of the Russian Federation), which separates it from the breakaway state of South Ossetia, which is de jure part of Georgia. The Russians suspect the man of espionage.

Source: Russian Kremlin-aligned agency TASS, citing the border directorate of the FSB (Federal Security Service of Russia), as reported by European Pravda

Details: This is at least the second such arrest over the past five months.

The name of the detainee has not been disclosed; it is known only that he is 36. Law enforcement agencies allege that the suspect had been informing Ukrainian special services via messenger apps about the location of Russian troops and equipment in a combat area in Ukraine.

How the Ukrainian citizen was able to send information about Russian army units deployed in the combat zone was not explained. There is no evidence that the detainee could have possibly been connected to the FSB either. He could face 20 years’ imprisonment for espionage.

Another Ukrainian citizen was detained in Verkhny Lars last December for the same reason. The current stage of his criminal proceedings is unknown.

Background:

• On 15 April, the State Security Service of Georgia reported the latest detention of Georgian citizens in the border area near the occupied Tskhinvali region (South Ossetia).
• After the Russo-Georgian war in 2008, the occupying administration of the Tskhinvali region in Georgia imposed a "border" along the demarcation line, grabbing additional chunks of territory as they did so. The line is frequently drawn right through the middle of villages and land plots.
• Because of this, the Russian occupying forces often illegally detain Georgian citizens, accusing them of "violating the state border".

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