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Evening Standard
Evening Standard
World

US citizen detained in Russia by FSB on suspicion of spying

A US man was arrested in Moscow by Putin's FSB on suspicion of spying (Picture: AP)

Russia's domestic security agency says it has arrested a US citizen on suspicion of spying in the country.

Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said that the American man was detained in Moscow on Friday on suspicion of espionage.

The agency said he was caught "during an espionage operation".

The state Tass news agency identified the detained man as Paul Whelan. Spying charges carry a prison sentence of up to 20 years in Russia.

The US Embassy in Moscow had no immediate comment.

The arrest comes as Russia-US ties have sunk to post-Cold War lows over the Ukrainian crisis, the war in Syria and the allegations of Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.

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