Russia’s FSB security service said it had detained a Ukrainian diplomat, accusing him of receiving sensitive information from a Russian citizen.
In recent years, Russia has detained a number of Ukrainian citizens suspected of espionage, but the detention of a diplomat is rare and seen as a sign of rising tensions.
“A Ukrainian diplomat, consul of the Consulate General of Ukraine in St. Petersburg, Alexander Sosonyuk, was detained by the Russian FSB,” the security service said, using the Russian spelling of his name. He had been detained on Friday, the FSB said.
Kiev has confirmed that the diplomat spent several hours in detention and is now back on the Ukrainian diplomatic mission.
The FSB said Sosonyuk was caught “in the act” during a meeting with a Russian citizen while seeking “classified” information.
“Such activity is not compatible with its diplomatic status and is clearly hostile to the Russian Federation,” the FSB said. “In accordance with international law, action will be taken against the foreign diplomat.”
In Kiev, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Oleg Nikolenko called the incident a heightened tension between the two countries. “This is yet another challenge in the midst of Russia’s destabilizing activities,” he told Agence France-Presse in a statement.
He said that Kiev is analyzing the incident and will respond in the near future.
Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have risen in recent weeks, with Kiev accusing Moscow of massaging troops at its border and seeking to destroy “Ukrainian statehood.”
Kiev has been fighting Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and clashes have intensified since the beginning of the year, destroying the ceasefire agreed in July last year.
He was concerned that the protracted conflict could lead to wider fighting, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on the West for help.