Russia detains journalist as Ukraine Defense Ministry spy

The Russian government announced on Oct. 3 it has detained Ukrainian journalist Roman Sushchenko for two months, accusing him of spying on behalf of the Main Intelligence Administration of the Defense Ministry of Ukraine. Sushchenko “with full intent collected information on the Armed Forces and National Guard of Russia that is a state secret, the leak of which overseas could have damaged the state’s defense capability,” the Russian State Security Service reported, according to the RIA Novosti news agency.

In response, Ukraine’s Defense Ministry issued a statement denying any relation, labeling the arrest as a provocation and calling for his immediate release. “This isn’t the first attempt by Russian intelligence to justify its criminal acts in detaining Ukrainian citizens with fabrications of non-existing saboteurs and spies,” the Oct. 3 statement said.

Sushchenko has been the Paris correspondent for the Ukrinform news agency since 2010. His lawyer, Mark Feygin, told Ukrinform that he couldn’t obtain any materials on his arrest and could miss the window that concludes today to appeal his two-month detention. Sushchenko spent his third day in isolation yesterday on Monday and “is being pressured psychologically, at minimum,” Feygin said. 

Zenon Zawada: Having lost Nadiya Savchenko as their television prop, the Russian government needed a new role player to fulfill the television news narrative of “Ukrainian fascists infiltrating the Russian motherland.” Sushchenko was at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and was quickly “recruited.” We expect a repeat of the Savchenko affair, including false charges and manufactured evidence. But it will be far less dramatic and likely to lack the same publicity.