Analysts from the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) suggest that the Kremlin will try to use the arrest of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich to win US concessions. According to the American think tank, Vladimir Putin personally approved the arrest of the journalist and his involvement in the decision of the Russian president could indicate that the Kremlin will try to use the arrest as leverage to obtain concessions from the United States.
The Russian ambassador to the United States meanwhile suggested that “it may be time to reduce the number of US journalists in Russia”. Speaking on Russian television about Gershkovich’s arrest, Anatoly Antonov said that “the Americans have threatened us with retaliatory measures if we don’t release Gershkovich in the near future. We’ll see how they behave.”