US journalist arrested in Russia writes letter to family in Russian

The Wall Street Journal reported that the American journalist's parents are Soviet immigrants, so they speak Russian.

“I want to say that I am not losing hope,” he wrote in a brief, two-page note that his family in Philadelphia received on Friday. “I read. I exercise. And I am trying to write. Maybe, finally, I am going to write something good.”

The journalist joked that his mother had prepared him well for prison food because the detention center gives oatmeal or wheat porridge for breakfast, which reminds him of his childhood. According to him, he received a parcel with clothes and toiletries, and his lawyers conveyed words of support from his family.

“I love you very-very much and hug you tightly. I received your words of support from the lawyers yesterday. Thank you very much. Until we meet soon. Write to me. Vanya,” the letter says. 

• Earlier, the FSB detained The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich in Yekaterinburg, accusing him of espionage. The American newspaper where he works urged the United States to expel the Russian ambassador.

• And US President Joe Biden called for the release of The Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich. 

• Evan Gershkovich, a journalist for The Wall Street Journal detained in Yekaterinburg, was previously under surveillance by Russian special services.

• Later, Russian FSB investigators formally charged Evan Gershkovich with espionage. The journalist denied the charges.