US urges citizens to leave Russia 'immediately' after WSJ reporter's arrest

American reporter Evan Gershkovich. Photo: Independent

According to RT, while Moscow said that reporter Evan Gershkovich was caught red-handed trying to obtain state secrets, the US condemned the arrest as an attack on "press freedom".

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington was “deeply concerned” about the incident, adding that “in the strongest possible terms, we condemn the Kremlin’s continued efforts to intimidate, repress, and punish journalists and civil society voices.”

In a statement, Mr. Blinken urged: “US citizens residing or traveling in Russia should leave immediately,” while reiterating strong warnings about “the danger to US citizens inside the Russian Federation.”

According to RT, a similar message was sent by the White House when on the same day, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre stated that "the Russian Government's targeting of US citizens is unacceptable."

“We also condemn the Russian government’s continued targeting and repression of journalists and press freedom,” Ms. Karine Jean-Pierre added, calling on Americans to “heed the U.S. government’s warning not to travel to Russia” or to leave if they are already in Russia.

For his part, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby somewhat downplayed the call and explained that Washington is not literally calling on all Americans to leave Russia and is not encouraging news agencies to withdraw their reporters from Russia.

On March 30, the Russian security service FSB announced that it had arrested reporter Gershkovich in the city of Ekaterinburg.

The FSB statement said the man was accused of attempting to gather intelligence at a defense plant, thus violating Russia's law on state secrets. Gershkovich now faces a prison sentence of 10 to 20 years on espionage charges.

According to the FSB's accusation, Gershkovich acted in the interests of the US Government when he sought to obtain classified information. Gershkovich was arrested while trying to receive intelligence.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that the reporter was caught red-handed "trying to obtain Russian state secrets".

Prior to working for the WSJ, Gershkovich was a correspondent for Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the Moscow Times, and a news assistant at the New York Times.

Gershkovich is the first reporter for an American newspaper to be arrested on espionage charges in Russia since the Cold War, and his arrest comes amid tensions over the conflict in Ukraine.

The latest news that Gershkovich wrote and published this week was about the decline of the Russian economy amid Western sanctions.

Gershkovich speaks Russian. His parents live in the United States but are of Soviet descent.