In Yekaterinburg, Russia, employees of the Federal Security Service detained The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Hershkovich allegedly for "espionage".

 This was reported by the propaganda publication "RIA-Novosti".

 "At the request of the US, he was engaged in gathering information about one of the enterprises of the Russian military-industrial complex, which constitute a state secret," the publication quotes the press release of the FSB.

 At the same time, as noted by the Russian mass media, Hershkovich has not been in touch since the evening of March 29. He was in Yekaterinburg for several weeks and wrote an article about the attitude of Russians to the "Wagner" PMC. He was accompanied on the trip by local activist Yaroslav Shirshikov.

 According to unconfirmed information, the American was detained near a local restaurant. A sweater was pulled over his head and passers-by could not see his face.

 It is worth noting that Evan Hershkovich has been living in Moscow for about six years. He covers events in Russia and Ukraine for the American newspaper The Wall Street Journal. He also worked for Agence France-Presse, The Moscow Times and The New York Times.

 It will be recalled that earlier it became known that in 2022 a record number of arrests was recorded in Russia. Repression continues to intensify.