US soldier arrested for allegedly leaking tank secrets to Russia

An American soldier has been arrested on charges of attempting to share secret information about the US Army’s Abrams tank with Russia, prosecutors said.

The justice department accused Taylor Adam Lee, an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas, of passing an SD card with sensitive information to a Russian official.

Mr Lee – who held a top secret security clearance – has been charged under the Espionage Act. Prosecutors allege he sought to exchange the classified information in return for Russian citizenship.

“This arrest is an alarming reminder of the serious threat facing our U.S. Army,” Brigadier General Sean F Stinchon of Army Counterintelligence Command said in a statement.

Mr Lee, 22, who was taken into custody on Wednesday morning, appeared in a federal court the same day. In addition to espionage charges, he is also facing charges under the US Arms Export Control Act.

Prosecutors allege Mr Lee met a representative of the Russian government in July, and sought to share US defence information.

Mr Lee allegedly stated, “the USA is not happy with me for trying to expose their weaknesses”. “At this point I’d even volunteer to assist the Russian federation when I’m there in any way.”

He allegedly discussed obtaining and providing Moscow with a specific piece of hardware used inside the Abrams tank, and then on 31 July allegedly delivered the hardware to a storage unit in El Paso, Texas.

The justice department stated that he then sent a text message saying “Mission accomplished” to the Russian representative.

It is unclear if he is being represented by an attorney, according to the BBC’s US partner CBS News.