The American journalist Evan Gershkovich appeared in a Moscow courtroom on Tuesday for the first time since his arrest on espionage charges three weeks ago. A judge denied his appeal of his pre-trial detention, meaning he will remain in Russian custody.

The US and his employer, The Wall Street Journal, have vehemently denied the espionage allegations and called for his immediate release. Gershkovich, 31, appeared to be in good spirits, smiling and winking at people he recognised in the courtroom.

Hours earlier, the Kremlin said that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had travelled to occupied areas of southern and eastern Ukraine in one of the closest trips he has made to the fighting, a show of bravado as Ukrainian forces prepare for an anticipated counteroffensive.

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter arrested in Russia last month, appeared in good spirits as he stood in a Moscow courtroom on Tuesday. He smiled at fellow journalists he recognised. He nodded when one of them, Vasily Polonsky, called out to him to persevere and passed on greetings from colleagues and friends.

It was the first time Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American, had been seen clearly since he was detained on March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage, a charge the United States and his employer have strenuously denied. At the hearing, a judge denied his appeal to lift his pre-trial detention, meaning he will remain in Russian custody for the time being.

Outside the courtroom, Tatiana Nozhkina, one of Gershkovich’s lawyers, said that his legal team would continue to appeal his detention. “He asserts that he is not guilty,” she said. The case against Gershkovich has brought relations between the US and Russia to a new low. The Biden administration has asserted that he is “wrongfully detained”.

New York Times News Service