Russian court sets closed trial date for WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich

Catch up quick: Russian prosecutors formally indicted Gershkovich, 32, last week. He has already spent roughly 15 months in prison.

• He faces 20 years in prison if convicted of the bogus charges that he, the Journal and the Biden administration have denied.
• Gershkovich has spent much of his pre-trial detention at Moscow's infamous Lefortovo prison, but is likely to be transferred back to Yekaterinburg, where he was arrested, ahead of next week's trial.

The big picture: Gershkovich is the first U.S. journalist to be arrested and held on spying charges in Russia since the Cold War.

• The U.S. State Department has officially declared him "wrongfully detained."
• State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters last week that there was "zero credibility" to the charges levied against Gershkovich and that the "Russian Government knows that they are false."

Between the lines: The U.S. and Russia have engaged in talks regarding a potential prisoner swap for Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan, who has been detained in Russia since 2018.

• Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Monday that Russia was in contact with the U.S. regarding Gershkovich but that the talks "must be kept completely under wraps," TASS reported.

Go deeper: Evan Gershkovich timeline: Wrongfully detained by Russia for one year

Editor's note: This story was updated with additional context.