The U.S. Department of Justice announced that a former "Green Beret" officer has been sentenced to more than 15 years in prison for espionage after admitting to disclosing U.S. military secrets to Russia. In a statement, the department revealed that Peter Debbins (46) pleaded guilty to espionage on November 2020. Debbins, who was born in the United States to a Russian mother, was contacted by Moscow in 1996, even before he joined the military.
The statement clarified that "in 1997, Debbins was given a code name by Russian intelligence operatives and signed a document expressing his desire to serve Russia." Initially, Debbins served in the military, and then he was encouraged by Russian intelligence to join the "Green Berets," an elite special forces unit, where he achieved the rank of captain, providing his Russian handlers with information about his units throughout the years.
In 2008, after leaving active duty, he provided his handlers with classified information about his past activities in the "Green Berets" and about his former unit mates, allowing the Russians to attempt to recruit them. According to the indictment, the former officer served abroad in Germany and Azerbaijan and held a high-level security clearance. The last recorded contact he had with Russia dates back to 2011.
Deputy Attorney General for National Security John Demers commented on the sentence by stating that "Debbins betrayed his oath as a soldier and betrayed the special forces, jeopardizing our nation’s security." He added that Debbins' behavior "reflects the threat posed by Russian intelligence to our military."
