𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

An American soldier accused of spying for Russia was assigned to a key NATO force responsible for defending the continent, it has emerged. Military chiefs admitted the 41-year-old suspect had been “entrusted with sensitive information” in his role.

The senior soldier is accused of helping a Russian intelligence service and obtaining or disclosing protected information. A senior NATO military official said: “We can confirm that the American service member arrested by British police was assigned to NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC)”. FBI director Kash Patel admitted the case involves “allegations of espionage”.

The suspect was based at Imjin Barracks, near Innsworth in Gloucestershire. NATO’s ARRC is based there and is responsible for propelling troops to the front line, and would co-ordinate the alliance’s warfighting effort in the event of an invasion.

In 2006, ARRC took command of NATO’s ISAF mission in Afghanistan as the Alliance expanded its operations into the south. NATO says the British-led force “can deploy across Europe to reinforce Allied defences, deter aggression and, if necessary, help recover territory taken by an enemy”.

It is considered “an important part of NATO’s collective defence”. But the Kremlin denied it is behind the espionage conspiracy. Dmitry Peskov, Vladimir Putin’s spokesman, said: “This arrest does not concern us in any way, and we do not know what it is connected to.

“We have nothing to do with it, and it has nothing to do with us.” Sir Ken McCallum, the head of MI5, warned in his annual threat update that Russia remains “aggressor number one”, with the West facing a “long-haul contest”.

And intelligence chiefs fear they will continue attempting to wreak havoc for years. He said: “We are planning on the basis that these risks will endure.

“Some of these vulnerabilities are inherent in handling an open society in a connected era, AI isn’t going away, there isn’t a probability that that will be something that is going to go away by the end of next year.

“Irrespective of what happens in Ukraine, it is quite hard to see the Kremlin suddenly decide to rub along with us all after all. So we are planning that this is going to be a long-haul contest.”