US Soldiers Arrested On Allegedly Leaking Information On Main Combat Tanks To Russia

Play Battle Tank M1A2 Abrams. (Wikimedia Commons/Staft Staff. Christopher McCulough)

JAKARTA - United States Army Soldiers were arrested on Wednesday on suspicion of trying to provide sensitive information about the US main fighting tank to the Russian government, according to the US Department of Justice.

A soldier named Taylor Adam Lee (22) stationed in FortBliss, Texas faces two federal charges accusing him of trying to send national defense information and exporting controlled technical data without permission, according to court documents.

"The Wednesday arrest is a message for anyone who thinks of betrayed the US especially members of the military who have vowed to protect our homeland. The FBI and our partners will do everything in our power to protect Americans and keep classified information," Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division said in a statement. a statement, reported by Reuters on August 7.

Prosecutors accused Lee, who holds top-secret security clearance, of trying to share information about Abrams' M1A2 operations and vulnerabilities, the U.S. main combat tank, in exchange for Russian citizenship.

Last month, Lee shared an SD card containing documents and information about the tank and other US military operations with someone he believed was a Russian intelligence officer. The documents contain technical data Lee did not allow to provide and some of them were marked as "Unsecret Controlled Information," according to prosecutors.

"A soldier who violates the oath and becomes an internal threat will definitely be arrested and tried, and we will continue to protect Army personnel and secure equipment," said Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, commander-general of the Army's Counter Intelligence Command.

Lee has yet to file a defense against the indictment, which was filed in the US District Court for Texas's Western District. Lawyers' information for Lee is not yet available.