US ambassador to Russia meets with detained American journalist Evan Gershkovich

US Ambassador to Russia Lynne Tracy met with jailed Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in a Moscow prison on Monday as he awaits trial on espionage charges. 

It’s the second such meeting between Gershkovich, 31, and Tracy, 59, since the journalist’s March arrest on trumped-up accusations of spying for the US government. 

“Ambassador Tracy reports that Mr. Gershkovich is in good health and remains strong, despite his circumstances,” a State Department spokesperson told The Post. “US Embassy officials will continue to provide all appropriate support to Mr. Gershkovich and his family, and we expect Russian authorities to provide continued consular access.”

Lynne’s meeting with Gershkovich in Moscow’s Lefortovo prison comes after a Russian court rejected the journalist’s appeal for release last month and ordered him to remain in custody through Aug. 30. 

US officials had been unable to talk with Gershkovich since Tracy’s April 17 meeting because of Russia’s refusal to provide consular access. 

Gershkovich was arrested on March 29 by Russia’s Federal Security Service during a reporting trip to Yekaterinburg, 800 miles east of Moscow. 

Russian authorities have accused the reporter of collecting classified information on behalf of the US government. Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal and the US government have all denied he was engaged in espionage.

Gershkovich is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying charges, and his arrest has drawn outrage in the West.

At the time of his arrest, Gershkovich had been working as a London-based correspondent for the Journal after prior stints with Agence France-Presse and the English-language Moscow Times.

Gershkovich, the son of Russian Jewish immigrants, was raised in Princeton, NJ.

The State Department told the Wall Street Journal in May that a prisoner exchange with Russia would be the most realistic path for Gershkovich’s release, as well as that of former US Marine Paul Whelan.

Whelan has been imprisoned in Russia since 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence after being convicted of espionage. 

WNBA star Brittney Griner was released from a Russian prison in December – almost 10 months after she was arrested on drug charges – as part of an exchange for notorious international arms dealer Viktor Bout. 

“Mr. Gershkovich is wrongfully detained and the charges against him are baseless. We call on the Russian Federation to immediately release him,” a State Department spokesperson told The Post. “We also call for the immediate release of Paul Whelan. Mr. Whelan has been wrongfully detained in Russia for more than 4 years.  Both men deserve to go home to their families now.”