U.S. soldier accused of spying linked to Russia arrested in the U.K.
A U.S. Army soldier has been arrested in the U.K. on suspicion that he engaged in espionage linked to Russia, British and U.S. authorities announced Tuesday.
The 41-year-old suspect was not identified, but a U.S. official told CBS News he is a senior officer based at Imjin Barracks, home to the headquarters for NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. He was arrested Tuesday near Gloucester, which is about 100 miles west of London.
The soldier is suspected of violations under Section 1 and Section 3 of the U.K.'s National Security Act of 2023 — obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service, respectively. Metropolitan Police said the suspected activity relates to Russia and they are carrying out searches at two locations in Gloucestershire — the county where the base is located — related to the investigation.
The suspect was in custody in a London police station as of Tuesday, according to Brig. Gen. Sean Stinchon, commanding general of U.S. Army Counterintelligence Command.
"The allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing," Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for the U.K.'s Counter Terrorism Policing force, said in a statement. "This activity demonstrates the strength of our UK and US law enforcement and national security partnerships, and I commend the work of all the teams involved. We will work together to take robust action against those we suspect of any criminal activity that could undermine our national security."
FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement that "this FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States and whose actions endanger our national security and that of our partners."
In an annual threat update last month, Sir Ken McCallum, the head of Britain's MI5 spy agency, accused Russia of "escalating their attempts at hybrid warfare," calling them "aggressor number one" when it comes to threats against the United Kingdom.
The arrest came as the U.S., Russia and Ukraine began a new round of trilateral talks in Abu Dhabi, the first such talks aimed at ending the war between Russia and Ukraine in about nine months. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the discussions "constructive and quite substantive," although it seems none of the participants expect any immediate breakthroughs, with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejecting European demands for an immediate ceasefire.
U.K. police said the arrest was not related to "any other ongoing Counter Terrorism Policing investigations," meaning it appears to be unrelated to the recent suspected plot at RAF Fairford, which officials have said is linked to Iran. The U.S. military last month removed its bombers from that base after a security incident that led to the arrests of five British men and one U.K.-Iranian national in late September. There are U.S. troops stationed at RAF Fairford, a British Royal Air Force base.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Justice Department announced that three people it accuses of being Iran-backed operatives were charged with plotting a terrorist attack at RAF Fairford. One of the suspects is in custody in New York. However, the other two are not in custody at this time, two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.