Russia Charges Former U.S. Consulate Employee for Collecting Information About Ukraine War
nytimesSEP 2023
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The charges against Shonov are wholly without merit. This is simply another demonstration of the Kremlin's crackdown on its own citizens and is part of Russia's attempts to intimidate and harass US employees in violation of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
In filmed testimony, Shonov admitted to collecting sensitive information about Russia for the Americans. This is clearly against the laws in Russia and the courts will deal with this case accordingly.