The Kremlin: Russia has no connection to an American soldier arrested by Britain on suspicion of espionage

The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that Russia has no connection to a US Army soldier who was arrested in Britain on suspicion of assisting Russian intelligence.

The 41-year-old soldier, who was entrusted with important information, was arrested yesterday, Tuesday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, in response to a question in this regard: “We have absolutely nothing to do with this matter, and it has nothing to do with us at all.”

British police announced, on Tuesday, the arrest of a US Army soldier in Britain on suspicion of aiding Russian intelligence services, after the United States withdrew its aircraft from British military bases due to another threat apparently emanating from Iran, according to the Reuters news agency.

Kash Patel, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), said that the man’s arrest “is related to espionage charges, which raises grave concern for the United States and its allies.”

Brigadier General Sean Stinchon, Commander-in-Chief of the US Army Counterintelligence Command, added: “The behavior attributed to a high-ranking soldier, who was entrusted with sensitive information, represents a solemn reminder that internal threats are real and ongoing.”

British police said that the arrest, which took place on Tuesday near the city of Gloucester in western England, “is not related to any other investigations conducted by anti-terrorism police,” but it occurred the day after the United States withdrew refueling planes from a British air base, in the second such evacuation within three months.

The planes left the Royal Air Force base in Mildenhall, eastern England, on Monday, which the Wall Street Journal said was in response to a threat from Iran. Last September, the United States withdrew bombers that were being used to strike Iran from the British Royal Air Force's Fairford base, for security reasons related to an incident that the police linked to Iran, which denied any connection to the attacks or incidents that occurred in Britain.

The US Army soldier, who was arrested today, was detained on suspicion of committing crimes under Articles One and Three of the National Security Law, which relate to obtaining or disclosing protected information and assisting a foreign intelligence service. The police said that the country to which these allegations relate is Russia.