New Delhi, Dec. 24 -- Oleg Olshansky and Sergei Ivin were detained at Sofia Airport as Washington intensifies its crackdown on alleged sanctions evaders, raising fresh diplomatic tensions between Moscow and the West amid ongoing enforcement of economic penalties against Russia.

Two Russian nationals are at the center of an escalating legal battle that underscores Washington's intensifying campaign to prosecute alleged violations of US sanctions imposed against Russia. Oleg Olshansky and Sergei Ivin were detained in Bulgaria at the request of United States authorities, facing accusations of sanctions violations and money laundering that could result in their extradition to American soil.

The arrests, which took place at Sofia Airport in ...