The Moscow City Court has upheld the arrest of Ukrainian citizen Roman Suschenko, who is charged with espionage, an Interfax correspondent reported.

"Uphold the decision made by the Moscow Lefortovo Court, reject the appeal filed by the defense lawyer," the judge said while reading his decision on Thursday.

Mark Feygin, a lawyer for the Ukrainian, had insisted in his appeal that the decision to detain his client and put him into custody was illegal.

The hearing was held behind closed doors.

On October 3, the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said that its officers in Moscow "arrested Col. Roman Suschenko, an employee of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry, during a spy operation." The FSB opened a criminal case under Article 276 (espionage) of the Russian Criminal Code; an inquiry is underway.

The Lefortovo court in Moscow placed Suschenko under two-month arrest. His defense team has appealed against the arrest. On October 7, it emerged that Russian investigators had charged Suschenko with espionage.

Feygin said his client flatly denies his guilt.

The lawyer said Suschenko was charged with several counts of espionage. "There are several counts, a total of some 1.5 pages. In my opinion, they are unconvincing," the lawyer said.

He said Suschenko is not refusing to testify altogether, but intends to testify in writing.

Feygin said Ukrainian journalist Roman Suschenko, who has lived in the territory of France for six years now, has visited Russia many times and was in Russia for personal reasons at the time he was detained. His relatives live in Russia.

Suschenko is now located in the Moscow detention facility Lefortovo, where a Ukrainian consul visited him on October 10.

Kyiv called the arrest a provocation on trumped-up espionage charges.