US active duty soldier arrested for attempting to share sensitive tank info with Russia

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - A US Army active duty soldier was arrested on charges of attempting to transmit national defense information to Russia, the FBI said Wednesday.

"The FBI’s investigation revealed Taylor (Adam) Lee allegedly attempted to provide classified military information on U.S. tank vulnerabilities to a person he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship," said Assistant Director Roman Rozhavsky of the FBI’s Counterintelligence Division.

According to court documents, Lee, 22 is an active-duty service member at Fort Bliss and holds a Top Secret (TS) / Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) security clearance.

“Today’s arrest is a message to anyone thinking about betraying the U.S. – especially service members who have sworn to protect our homeland," Rozhavsky said.

The FBI and its partners will do "everything in our power" to protect Americans and safeguard classified information, he added.