Russia jails Romanian citizen for 15 years for spying for Ukraine

MOSCOW, March 5 (Reuters) - A Romanian man was convicted of spying for Ukraine and sentenced by a Russian court on Thursday to 15 years in prison, the court in the southern region of Krasnodar said.

In a post on Telegram, the court's press service said the man, who it identified as Adrian-David Cherciu, had gathered and passed to Ukraine information on air defences in the coastal resort city of Sochi.

It said he had agreed to work for Ukraine in November 2024, but did not say when he was arrested.

Romania's foreign ministry said it has been aware of the case since December 2024.

"We have repeatedly asked both in Bucharest and in Moscow the facilitation of access to the Romanian citizen to be able to provide consular assistance," the ministry said in a statement.

"Up until now, the Russian side did not respond to our repeated requests."