An American retired commander who confessed to revealing secret information of the American army in Russia was sentenced to more than 15 years in prison, announced the Ministry of Justice.
Peter Debbins, 46, pleaded guilty to spying for Russia in November 2020.
Born in the US to a Russian mother, he was approached from Moscow in 1996, before enlisting in the army..
«In 1997, Debbins was given a code by Russian intelligence agents and signed a document stating that he wanted to serve Russia.“, According to an announcement by the Ministry of Justice.
Debbins first served in the military, then was encouraged by the Russian secret services to enlist in the “green hats”, an elite unit of special forces, where he acquired the rank of captain. All these years he provided the Russian secret services with information about his units, according to this indictment.
In 2008, after he was demobilized, he also provided them with confidential information about his previous activities in the “green berets”, and about his former colleagues, so that the Russians could try to recruit them.
According to the indictment, the retired soldier had been transferred to Germany and then to Azerbaijan, having a high level of security rating. His last recorded contact with Russia dates back to 2011.
“Debbins violated his oath as an army soldier, betrayed the special forces and endangered the security of our country,” said John Demers, head of the Department of Homeland Security. His behavior “reflects the threat posed by the Russian intelligence services to our army“, He added.
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