US soldiers sold military secrets in exchange for Russian citizenship

An American soldier collected classified information and stole equipment from military vehicles in exchange for Russian citizenship. Details of the case were published on the US Department of Justice website recently.

According to the announcement, the US Army Counterintelligence Force, in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), exposed Taylor Adam Lee, 22, a soldier at Fort Bliss, when he was trying to send defense and technical information to Russian intelligence.

"The FBI's investigation found that Taylor Lee attempted to provide classified military information about vulnerabilities in U.S. tanks to an individual he believed to be a Russian intelligence officer in exchange for Russian citizenship," said Roman Rozhavsky, assistant director of the FBI's counterintelligence division.

According to the investigation, in June 2025, Lee posted limited technical data on the M1A2 Abrams tank online and offered to assist the Russian Federation, stating: "The US is not satisfied with my attempt to expose their weaknesses" and adding: "At this time, I would even volunteer to help Moscow in any way."

In July, during a private meeting with an alleged Russian government representative, Lee handed over an SD card containing documentation on an M1A2 Abrams tank and another armored fighting vehicle, as well as data on US Army combat operations.

Some of the documents provided contained restricted technical information that Lee was not authorized to receive. Other documents were marked as controlled non-classified information. Throughout the meeting, Lee maintained that the information was confidential and likely to be classified as top secret.

During and after the July meeting, Lee discussed transferring equipment from M1A2 Abrams tanks to Russian government officials. He ultimately moved the equipment to a storage facility in El Paso, Texas, in late July.

Lee then sent a message to someone he believed to be a Russian government official, saying: "Mission accomplished."

It is currently unclear whether the person Lee approached was a Russian government official or a member of the US Counterintelligence Agency, and whether the documents this soldier stole were truly valuable.