The Russia’s FSB security services on Tuesday confirmed it had arrested a US-Russian woman suspected of treason and raising funds for the Ukrainian army, state media reported.
The FSB in the central Urals city of Yekaterinburg said it had “suppressed the illegal activities” of a 33-year-old woman, a resident of Los Angeles with dual citizenship, and taken her into custody.
It added that the unnamed woman had been “proactively raising funds which were subsequently used to purchase tactical medical items, equipment, means of destruction and ammunition for the Ukrainian armed forces,” Russian news agencies reported, citing an FSB statement.
However, the RIA Novosti agency posted a video from the FSB showing hooded officers escorting and handcuffing a woman in a white coat with a white hat pulled down over her eyes.
The FSB said she had been acting “against the security of our country” and had been supporting the Ukrainian army while in the United States, news agencies reported.
“Treason is punishable by up to 20 years in Russia prison.
On the note, several US nationals are currently imprisoned in Russia, including Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, arrested last year on espionage charges that he, his employer and the US government had rejected.
Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin has said he wants to negotiate a prisoner exchange to swap Russians imprisoned abroad for US citizens detained in Russia.
By Remilekun Awokoya