The Belgorod Anti-War Committee reported the detention of The Moscow Times journalist Kirill Ponomarev on suspicion of espionage

Kirill Ponomarev, a journalist for The Moscow Times, was detained in Belgorod. According to preliminary information, he is suspected of spying for Ukraine. This was reported by the Anti-War Committee of Belgorod Telegram channel.

The committee's founder, Ilya Kostyukov, told Dozhd that Ponomarev interviewed refugees from Ukraine and introduced himself as a Ukrainian journalist during the conversation. Police officers were present during the conversation. Upon hearing Ponomarev's words, they "got very tense" and therefore detained the journalist, Kostyukov suggested.

At the time of writing this news, more than three hours have passed since Ponomarev's arrest. The journalist has not yet been released from the police station. A lawyer is not allowed to see him, writes the "Anti-War Committee of Belgorod".

The Ministry of Internal Affairs and the editorial board of The Moscow Times have not yet commented on the situation.

Updated . The Moscow Times confirmed the journalist's detention. "Ponomarev acted on instructions from the editorial office, communicating with citizens of Russia and Ukraine who were evacuated from under the shelling. He managed to record several interviews with hostel residents, after which he was detained by the police. The correspondent managed to call the editorial office and report the detention, after which he stopped responding," the editorial office stated.