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The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken has condemned Russia for wrongfully detaining Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The move has infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin and has put the two superpowers on a collision course yet again.

The United States and Russia have long been at loggerheads with each other. The recent announcement by the State Department condemning Russia for wrongfully detaining Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has further strained relations between the two countries. The move by the State Department has infuriated Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has vowed to take action against the United States.

The situation has become so volatile that it can lead to an international crisis as both countries are not ready to back down. Russia has accused Gershkovich of espionage and has claimed that he was “caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, collecting data constituting a state secret under the guise of a journalistic status.” However, the United States has denied the allegations and demanded that Gershkovich be released immediately.

The United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken formally declared on Sunday that Russian authorities had wrongfully detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, giving federal officials additional resources to secure his release. Blinken announced the official classification involving Gershkovich, who was arrested last week on accusations of espionage by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB). The category gives control to the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department to handle the situation.

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Vedant Patel, a State Department spokesperson, told NBC in a statement. “Journalism is not a crime, We condemn the Kremlin’s continued repression of independent voices in Russia and its ongoing war against the truth.”

The move has attracted criticism from Russia, which claims that the United States is politicizing Gershkovich’s detention. However, the United States has demanded the immediate release of Gershkovich, and Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran detained in the country since 2018.

On March 29, Gershokovich was detained in Yekaterinburg, located in the Ural Mountains, while on a reporting trip, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Russian Foreign Ministry claimed the United States was politicizing Gershokovich’s detention, saying, “it is unacceptable for officials in Washington and the western media to whip up a stir with the clear intention of giving this case a political coloring.”

The Russian foreign minister continued “Blinken’s attention was drawn to the need to respect the decisions of the Russian authorities, taken in accordance with the law and international obligations of the Russian Federation,” .

Russia has yet to provide any evidence for the allegations against Gershkovich but claimed he was “caught red-handed while trying to obtain secret information, collecting data constituting a state secret under the guise of a journalistic status.” According to The New York Times, Gershkovich faces up to 20 years in prison. The Wall Street Journal “vehemently denies” the allegations, as did Gershkovich in a court appearance last week.

Whelan, a former United States Marine and current captive in Russia has been serving a 16-year prison sentence in a penal colony on espionage charges, accusations which Whelan denies and the U.S. government says are baseless.

President Joe Biden recently told reporters that his message to Russia regarding Gershkovich was “let him go.” As tensions continue to rise between the United States and Russia, the question on everyone’s lips is what will Putin do?

The recent move by the State Department condemning Russia for wrongfully detaining Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich is a significant one. It has further strained relations between the United States and Russia, bringing them on a collision course yet again. The situation has attracted criticism from Russia, which claims that the United States is politicizing Gershkovich’s detention. However, the United States has demanded the immediate release of Gershkovich, and Paul Whelan, a U.S. Marine veteran detained in the country since 2018. As we wait to see what Putin does next, the future between the two superpowers remains uncertain.

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