Russia's Investigative Committee said on July 3 that French citizen Laurent Vinatier, who was arrested in early June, has pleaded guilty to illegally obtaining information about the Russian military. On June 7, a Moscow court sent the 48-year-old expert on Russia, the Caucasus, and Central Asia to pretrial detention until at least August 5 on charges of illegally gathering information about the Russian military and failing to register as a "foreign agent." Vinatier works for a Geneva-based conflict mediation organization. Relations between Russia and France have been strained since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine February 2022.
