Ukraine confirms attack on electrical grid in Russia's Kursk region
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich remains “defiant” six months after he was detained in Russia on spying charges, which he and the Journal strenuously deny, his mother told CNN's Anderson Cooper Thursday night.
“He’s smiling. He understands what’s going on,” Ella Milman said. “And I have to say, under all the circumstances, he’s doing really well.”
Gershkovich’s parents have been able to go to Russia twice. They saw him in June and were able to talk to him, though Cooper noted he was essentially in a glass box.
“Being there, it was like having him back,” his father, Mikhail Gershkovich, said. “Just the physical presence and his voice made you very happy.”
Gershkovich was arrested in March during a reporting trip. The FSB, Russia’s main security service, accused him of trying to obtain state secrets — a charge Gershkovich and his employer have extensively denied.
If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.
Gershkovich’s parents left the Soviet Union to come to the United States. Evan’s initial reporting trips in the country didn’t worry the two of them.
“He came to Russia in 2017. Things were a lot different at the time,” Milman said.
The family keeps in touch with Gershkovich through letters, which are up to 10 pages long and include printed pictures. His sister, Danielle Gershkovich, says they can hear his voice through his writing — fitting, Cooper noted, as he’s a print journalist.
“It’s like sitting on the couch,” Milman said. “The only thing is that the answer comes the following week.”
Read more about Gershkovich's detention in Russia.
