In this file photo taken on April 20, 2021, a security staff patrols the US Embassy in Moscow, Russia. (PHOTO / AP)

MOSCOW - The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Monday it has charged a former US consulate employee with spying on information about Russia's special military operation in Ukraine.

Robert Shonov is accused of collecting information for the US Embassy about the course of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, including on mobilization processes in Russia's regions, and on potential "problematic aspects" that could spur protest sentiment in the country ahead of the presidential elections

The FSB said in a statement that it "stopped the illegal activities" of an informant of the US embassy in Moscow, Russian citizen Robert Shonov, who was a former employee at the US Consulate General in Vladivostok.

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Shonov is accused of collecting information for the US Embassy about the course of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine, including on mobilization processes in Russia's regions, and on potential "problematic aspects" that could spur protest sentiment in the country ahead of the presidential elections.

The FSB has charged Shonov with committing a crime under Article 275.1 of the Russian Criminal Code which punishes cooperation on a confidential basis with a foreign state.

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It said Shonov passed information to two US diplomats working at the political department of the embassy, adding that they would be questioned as part of the investigation.