Russian prosecutors on Thursday announced a major step in their case against jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich, saying they had finalized the espionage charge against him and he would stand trial in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested more than a year ago. .
Russian authorities have suggested they might be open to a prisoner swap for Wall Street Journal reporter Gershkovich, but only after a verdict is handed down.
The arrest of Gershkovich, the first American journalist to be arrested on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, highlighted the extent to which Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has damaged relations between Moscow and Washington.
In a declarationProsecutors said they had determined and confirmed that “under CIA instructions” and “using secret methods,” Gershkovich “was collecting secret information” about a factory producing tanks and other weapons in the Sverdlovsk region.
Gershkovich, along with his employer and the US government, have denied the charges against him. The United States government has designated Mr. Gershkovich as “unjustly detained,” which in practice means that it considers him a political prisoner.