MOSCOW, August 29. /TASS/. Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court has extended by three months the arrest of Robert Shonov, a former employee of the US Consulate General in Vladivostok, who pleaded guilty to gathering data about the special military operation on assignment for US diplomats, a court spokeswoman told TASS.

"Moscow’s Lefortovsky District Court ruled to grant the petition from the investigation and extend the arrest of Shonov by three months, or to November 23," she said.

In a video of Shonov’s questioning that was released by the Russian Federal Security Service, or the FSB, he said he had been approached by US embassy employees seeking information about resonant events in Russia, such as the special military operation, the military mobilization, future presidential elections and the accession of new territories. Shonov said he was asked to collect negative information about these events, look out for protest sentiments among people and put all that into his reports.

Besides, the first secretary of the US embassy tasked him with finding reporters, businessmen and politicians who were loyal to the United States and who, like Shonov, could be used for data gathering.

The FSB said that Shonov had been charged with confidential cooperation with a foreign country. According to the FSB, from September 2022 until he was arrested, Shonov was paid to carry out assignments for two employees from the US Embassy’s political department in Moscow, identified as Jeffrey Sillin and David Bernstein. There are plans to interrogate the two diplomats and summonses had already been sent to the US Embassy, the FSB said.