Key facts
- David Adrian Kercso, a Romanian citizen who grew up in England, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for spying for Ukraine.
- An arrest video released by Russia's FSB security service was filmed after Kercso had already been in Russian custody for months.
- Kercso was first arrested in Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, and later transferred to Russia.
- Reuters analysis of the video and court records suggests the arrest video was filmed in a park in Sochi, Russia, in mid-April 2025.
- Kercso's family states he was lured to the region for a romance with a woman he met online.
David Adrian Kercso, a 23-year-old Romanian citizen who grew up in England, was sentenced to 15 years in prison for spying for Ukraine. However, Reuters analysis of video evidence and court records indicates that a video released by Russia's FSB security service, purporting to show his arrest, was staged and filmed months after he was already in Russian custody.
Kercso's family states he was lured to the region for a romance with a woman he met online. He traveled to Abkhazia, a breakaway region of Georgia, in August 2024. After his relationship deteriorated and he planned to return home, he was arrested in Abkhazia on November 28, 2024. Abkhazian authorities released a video of his arrest on December 13, and he appeared in a Russian court the following day.
The FSB's arrest video, filmed in a park in Sochi, appears to have been shot in mid-April 2025, after Kercso had been held in Russia for four months. Kercso alleges he was beaten and tortured during his detention and that his confessions were coerced. He has learned Russian in prison and hopes to appeal his conviction.