MOSCOW, July 13. /TASS/. The Moscow City Court has upheld the decision to extend the arrest of Roman Sushchenko, a Ukrainian citizen who is facing espionage charges in Russia, a court spokesperson told TASS.

"The court has rejected the defense attorney’s appeal," she said. The attorney requested the court to put Sushchenko under house arrest or release him on bail.

Moscow’s Lefortovsky District court earlier extended his arrest until September 30.

Sushchenko was charged with espionage in accordance with Article 276 of the Russian Criminal Code. The charge is punishable with imprisonment of up to 20 years.

According to the Public Relations Center of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), Sushchenko is a staff member of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry’s main intelligence department.

He was arrested in Moscow on September 30, 2017, while on a spy mission to collect secret information on Russia’s Armed Forces and the National Guard.

The Ukrainian pleaded not guilty. Defense attorney Mark Feigin said that his client, a Paris correspondent of the Ukrinform news agency, had come to Moscow on vacation to visit his relatives. The Ukrainian news agency confirmed this information saying that Sushchenko had been a staff member since 2002 and had "an impeccable reputation."