The Russian FSB accused a journalist associated with Radio Sloboda of treason. According to the investigation, he was supposed to transmit the data used in the cyber attack via Telegram.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) detained a journalist who also worked for Radio Sloboda (RFE/RL) in the past. The man is suspected of helping Ukraine in the preparation of cyber attacks, AFP reported on Thursday.
According to the FSB statement, this is a man born in 1960, who was detained in the Siberian city of Chita on suspicion of treason. The FSB claims that the detainee joined a group on the Telegram platform controlled by the Ukrainian secret service SBU. In this way, the suspect gave the Ukrainian side information about the local pro-war media, which, according to the FSB, was subsequently used to organize a cyber attack on this website.
The FSB claims that the detainee previously worked as a local reporter for Radio Liberty, which Russia outlawed in 2024 as the so-called undesirable organization. Treason in Russia is punishable by life imprisonment. The FSB has not released the identity of the detainee, but local media believe it could be journalist Alexander Andreyev. Moscow has detained dozens of its own citizens since the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, accusing them of planning sabotage attacks or providing sensitive information to the Ukrainian military or Ukrainian security forces.
