US service member accused of attempting to spy for Russia identified, media reports
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A U.S. Army officer who was arrested in England for allegedly attempting to pass sensitive information to Russia was identified as Lt. Col. Brandon Tyner on Nov. 12.
Detained this week by British police following a sting operation, Tyner, 41, is the latest of multiple foreign service members accused of spying for Russia in recent months.
On Nov. 10, U.S. FBI Director Kash Patel announced that a U.S. Army soldier was arrested in the U.K. "in a Russia-related espionage investigation."
"Our message is clear: This FBI has no tolerance for anyone who breaks their oath to the United States," Patel wrote on X.
Following an expected court appearance in the U.K. next week, Tyner will then be transferred to the U.S. to be charged under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, the New York Times reported.
The exact nature of Tyner's involvement with Russia has not yet been publicly revealed.
Tyner, a veteran who served in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Qatar, previously received the Bronze Star Medal and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal. According to the Wall Street Journal, Tyner was stationed at NATO’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps headquarters in Gloucestershire, the alliance's largest base in Britian.
On Nov. 11, the Kremlin denied any involvement in the accusations against Tyner.
"This arrest has nothing to do with us, and we don’t know what it’s linked to," Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said. "We have no connection to it, and it has no bearing on us.
As tensions between Russia and NATO countries have risen over threats of hybrid attacks from Moscow in recent months, service members from multiple nations have been charged with spying for Russia.
On Oct. 8, U.K. Royal Navy junior intelligence specialist Teddy Young, 24, made his first court appearance after he was charged with two offenses for allegedly trying to pass protected information to a foreign power between November 2024 and May 2025.
Australian authorities charged a dual Russian-Australian citizen after he allegedly joined Ukraine’s military and tried to pass information about Ukrainian forces to people linked to Russian intelligence, the Australian Federal Police said on Aug. 21.
A Canadian military counter-intelligence agent charged with passing operational information to Ukraine will face a court-martial hearing in December, the Canadian chief military judge's office told reporters on Nov. 4.
