The French government has launched an investigation into a senior French army officer (on secondment abroad)who is said to be responsible for a “. breach security” The soldier is said to be acting as a spy and passing information to Russia.
Defense Minister Florence Parly confirmed the investigation, saying only that the officer “has faced legal proceedings for a security breach ,” speaking to the newspaper Les Echos, radio station Europe 1 and CNews . She did not provide further information, but sources told French media that the officer worked with NATO and lived mainly in Italy.
Some other sources report that the officer in question was a lieutenant.
“We have taken all the necessary measures,” explained the French Defense Minister.
The French government believes the officer passed sensitive data to Russian services intelligence and is now in custody in Paris, according to radio station Europe 1.
The soldier was arrested by the French security DGSI, when he was trying to return to Italy after the end of his vacation in France, and was detained in La Santé.
A judicial source said the Paris prosecutor's office launched an investigation following a report from the Ministry of the Armed Forces on July 22.
As a result, on August 21 endangering , national security. the military man was charged with transferring information to foreign powers (Russia), which means
The officer is specifically accused of “delivering information to a foreign power” as well as “collecting information that harms the fundamental interests of the nation, with the aim of delivering it to a foreign power” and “undermining the confidentiality of national defense,” the source said.
The soldier speaks Russian and had appeared in Italy with a man identified as an agent of the GRU, the Russian military intelligence service, Europe 1 reported.
We await more information.
