Protests Of Former Consulate Worker Accused Of Spying, US: Intimidating And Harassing

US Embassy in Moscow, Russia. (Wikimedia Commons/Genandy Grachev)

JAKARTA - The United States has accused Russia of trying to intimidate and harass its employees, after state media reported a former US consulate employee had been charged by Russia's security services for gathering information about the war in Ukraine to Moscow's domestic issues for Washington.

The Russian Government news agency, TASS, quoted the FSB security agency as saying, Robert Shonov, a Russian citizen, shared information with US Embassy staff in Moscow about how Russia's mandatory military campaign had an impact on political dissatisfaction ahead of the 2024 presidential election in the country.

The FSB said it plans to question the employees of the US Embassy in contact with Shonov, who have been detained since May.

Shonov himself was hired by the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, eastern Russia, for more than 25 years until Russia in 2021 ordered layoffs with local US mission staff.

US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller reiterated the position of Uncle Sam's country, the allegation against Shonov, which Washington says was hired through a company signed by the US Embassy to summarize the news report, "completely baseless."

"Russian targeting of Shonov under the'secret cooperation' law only highlights the increasingly repressive actions taken by the Russian government against its own citizens," Miller said in a statement.

Miller said Washington was aware that the FSB had also summoned two diplomats working at the US Embassy in Moscow regarding the case.

"We strongly protest the efforts of the Russian security service - supported by the media controlled by the government - to intimidate and harass our employees," Miller stressed.

Separately, the Russian Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment on this matter.