UK police hold NATO-assigned US soldier suspected of Russia spying

The case, the latest espionage allegation involving suspected Russian agents in Britain and elsewhere in Europe, comes with tensions heightened between Moscow and various European capitals after its 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

It also follows recent security scares at two British air force bases hosting the US military, which officials have accused Iran of being behind.

UK police have said the 41-year-old American soldier was detained near Gloucester, southwest England, on suspicion of violating national security laws and taken to a London police station.

Later Tuesday, a senior NATO military official confirmed that he was assigned to its Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC), the alliance's multinational, high-readiness military headquarters led by the British Army.

Based at Imjin Barracks in the village of Innsworth, the Corps can deploy at short notice anywhere in Europe or globally under the direct operational command of NATO's Supreme Allied Commander Europe.

Imjin is also just a few miles from the UK's sensitive GCHQ intelligence, security and cyber agency headquarters.

Vicki Evans, senior national coordinator for UK Counter Terrorism Policing, said the "significant arrest and investigation" followed close collaboration between UK and US authorities.

"The allegations are serious and our investigation is very much ongoing," she said in a statement late Tuesday.

US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) director Kash Patel thanked British police and intelligence agencies.

"This important arrest involves allegations of espionage, which is of the utmost concern to the United States and our allies," he said, according to the UK police statement.

- 'Sobering' -

It noted officers were carrying out searches at two locations in Gloucestershire.

Police arrested the US soldier under two sections of the UK's national security laws, one relating to obtaining or disclosing protected information and the other to assisting a foreign intelligence service.

The law allows counter terrorism police to hold him without charge for up to 14 days.

Sean Stinchon, the commanding general of US Army Counterintelligence Command described the alleged actions of the "senior solider, entrusted with sensitive information" as a "sobering reminder that insider threats are real and persistent".

The probe is not linked to any other ongoing investigations, the police statement said.

Western countries have for years accused the Kremlin of espionage within their borders, as well as masterminding a string of incidents to undermine support for Ukraine as it battles Russia's invasion.

In September, a British man appeared in a London court over allegations he was preparing to sabotage a drone factory and drone manufacturing sites on behalf of Russian military intelligence.

Last year, a 66-year-old British man was jailed for seven years for his attempts to spy for Russia.

Meanwhile, a loose network of young UK men were also imprisoned for their involvement in torching a warehouse storing supplies for Ukraine, after Russia's paramilitary Wagner group recruited the attack's orchestrator.