A senior 41-year-old US Army officer was arrested Tuesday near Gloucester, England, on suspicion of espionage related to Russia. The suspect, who was entrusted with sensitive information, is suspected of assisting a foreign intelligence service by obtaining or disclosing protected information.
The arrest was carried out by UK counter-terrorism police as part of an investigation under the National Security Act. This operation was a joint effort involving the FBI and US military intelligence. The suspect is currently being held in a London jail pending possible charges.
According to a US official, the suspect is a senior officer based at Imjin Barracks, the headquarters for NATO's Allied Rapid Reaction Corps. Although the arrest was made by counter-terrorism forces, police stated that the investigation is not related to other counter-terror investigations.
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the arrest relates to allegations of espionage, and the FBI described the case as being of the utmost concern to Washington and its allies. Army counterintelligence chiefs warned that insider threats are real and persistent, while governments continue to highlight the threat of Russian espionage aimed at intimidating supporters of Ukraine.