Kremlin condemns arrest of two Russians in Europe at Washington’s request

The Kremlin on Friday slammed the arrest of two Russian nationals in Italy and Germany at Washington’s request, accusing them of illegally selling US technology to arms companies in Russia.

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“We condemn the arrest of Russian citizens,” replied Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, pledging to “do everything” to protect those involved.

One of them, Artyom Oz, who was arrested at Milan airport on Monday, is the son of a Russian politician, Aleksandre Oz, governor of the Siberian region of Krasnoyarsk.

Another Russian suspect in the case, Yuri Yurikov, was arrested in Germany on Monday. The US Department of Justice said it is seeking the extradition of both men to the US.

Washington accuses three Russians and two Venezuelan oil brokers of buying electronic components from the United States intended to fit planes, radars or missiles and reselling them to Russian arms companies.

Some of this equipment, according to the US, was later used on Ukrainian battlefields.

The network is suspected of using the same front company to transfer hundreds of millions of barrels of Venezuelan oil to Russia and China.

The arrests come as Moscow and Washington are negotiating a prisoner exchange, including US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was sentenced to nine years in prison in Russia for drug trafficking.

On Thursday, Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, condemned the two new arrests as political “hostages”.