U.S. Army Soldier Arrested in Britain on Suspicion of Spying for Russia While Assigned to NATO Rapid Reaction Corps
A senior U.S. Army soldier was detained near Gloucester on charges of espionage for Russia, prompting joint U.K. and U.S. investigations.
A senior U.S. Army soldier was arrested near Gloucester, England, on suspicion of acquiring and disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service, offences under Sections 1 and 3 of the U.K. National Security Act. The service member, identified only as a 41-year-old, was assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), which is headquartered at Imjin Barracks on the outskirts of the city.
The ARRC hosts the largest U.S. Army contingent in the United Kingdom, part of a force of more than 12,000 U.S. military personnel and civilian staff stationed in the country. The corps is one of two troop pools that General Alexus Grynkewich, NATO’s senior commander in Europe, could deploy to the Baltic states or Poland if Russian forces were to move onto alliance territory.
U.S. and NATO officials have warned that Russia is expanding hybrid activities, including cyberattacks and espionage, across Europe. In recent weeks, General Grynkewich told the European Parliament Committee on Security and Defence that Russian hybrid operations have increased in both quantity and sophistication.
FBI Director Kash Patel said the arrest raises “utmost concern” for the United States and its allies, noting the FBI’s 167 counterintelligence and espionage arrests over the past 21 months, a 53 percent rise. The U.K. counter-terrorism police said they worked closely with U.S. authorities, including the FBI and the U.S. military, and searched two locations in Gloucestershire. The service member is being held at a police station in London.
"The alleged conduct of a senior soldier, entrusted with sensitive information, is a sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent," said Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, commanding general of the U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
"The allegations are serious," said Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, Senior National Coordinator for Counter Terrorism Policing in the U.K., adding that the investigation remains ongoing.