The 21-year-old man arrested in connection with the leak of classified US documents related to the Ukraine conflict is a cyber specialist for the US Air Force National Guard.
(Bloomberg) — The 21-year-old man arrested in connection with the leak of classified US documents related to the Ukraine conflict is a cyber specialist for the US Air Force National Guard.
He was arrested in Massachusetts and is scheduled to be arraigned in US District Court in Boston on Friday.
Moscow would consider swapping a Wall Street Journal reporter jailed for spying last month for a Russian prisoner held by the US, but only after the American is convicted, a senior official said.
“The question of swapping anyone can be discussed after the court properly issues its verdict on the charges,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to Tass.
Key Developments
- US Left Red-Faced Over 21-Year-Old’s Alleged Tie to Secrets Leak
- US Arrests 21-Year-Old National Guardsman in Defense Leak
- Ukraine Secured $42B in Support This Year, Central Banker Says
- Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Asks Global Leaders to Seize Russian Assets
- Germany to Allow Polish Export of MiG 29 Fighter Jets to Ukraine
- A Fracturing US-Saudi Oil Pact Hands the Advantage to Putin
- What We Know About the Leak of US Military Documents: Q&A
(All times CET)
Suspect Arrested in Document Leak was Cyber Specialist (10:58 p.m.)
The FBI arrested a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman in connection with the leak of highly classified documents including maps, intelligence updates and the assessment of Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Jack Teixeira, who serves as a cyber specialist for the US Air Force National Guard, was taken into custody Thursday afternoon in Massachusetts without incident. He will be arraigned in US District Court in Boston on Friday.
He will be charged with “unauthorized removal, retention and transmission of classified national defense information,” Attorney General Merrick Garland told reporters at a Washington press conference.
The leaked trove of classified US documents on Ukraine is a mixture of true, false and outdated information, the country’s Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said separately. The leak would clearly appear to benefit Russia and its supporters, he said.
Ukraine Secured $42 Billion in Support This Year, Central Banker Says (10:02 p.m.)
Ukraine has secured $42 billion in international support this year, including $4.6 billion from the International Monetary Fund, deputy central bank governor Sergiy Nikolaychuk said.
“International partners promised to provide us during the next four years an amount of $150 billion,” Nikolaychuk said in an interview on Bloomberg TV, a figure that includes a $15.6 billion program from the IMF.
Ukraine received $32 billion in 2022, which “was not enough to cover all budget needs,” he said. In 2023, the economy will start to recover from the 29% contraction in gross domestic product last year.
Raimondo Calls For Private Investment in Reconstruction (5:45 p.m.)
President Biden’s administration is “utterly committed” to supporting Ukraine, but this effort “has to be a public-private partnership,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said at a US-Ukraine forum Thursday morning.
In order for that investment to be possible, Ukraine first needs assistance to win the war, said US Deputy Secretary of Commerce Don Graves on a panel at the summit – including, for example, strict export controls that curtail Russia’s military might. But private investment cannot wait for the war to end, said U.S. International Development Finance Corporation CEO Scott Nathan. Rather, the international community needs to leverage tools like political risk insurance that can jumpstart private investment.
Representatives from Citibank and Blackrock said they are already looking at opportunities to rebuild the country as a modernized, technologically-focused version of its prewar self. “There is desire to put private capital,” said Julie Monaco, global head of the public sector group at Citi.
Putin Opponent Navalny Suffering from Mystery Ailment (4:30 p.m.)
Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny is suffering from a mystery stomach ailment that could be an attempt to poison him slowly, his spokeswoman Kira Yarmysh said.
After losing eight kilograms (18 pounds) over 15 days of solitary confinement, an ambulance was called for him because of acute stomach pain, she said. Three days after being released from the punishment cell, Navalny on April 10 was put into isolation for another 15 days and is being held there “with acute pain without medical help,” Yarmysh said on Twitter.
Navalny, 46, who’s serving two sentences totaling 11 1/2 years, survived a nerve agent poisoning in August 2020 that he and Western governments blamed on the Kremlin. Russian officials denied any role in the incident.
Germany to Clear Fighter-Jet Delivery by Poland (4:25 p.m.)
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s ruling coalition will quickly approve a Polish request for permission to re-export MiG 29 fighter jets from former East German military stocks to Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the issue.
Poland has been among the strongest supporters of military aid to Ukraine and recently began shipping fighter jets. President Andrzej Duda said this month that Poland may eventually transfer its entire fleet of about 29 Soviet-era jets to its eastern neighbor.
Russia Says Jailed WSJ Reporter May Be Swapped Only After Conviction (2:40 p.m.)
The Kremlin would consider swapping a Wall Street Journal reporter jailed for spying last month for a Russian prisoner held by the US only after the American is convicted, a senior official said.
“The question of swapping anyone can be discussed after the court properly issues its verdict on the charges,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, according to Tass. He reiterated the US and Russia have a special diplomatic channel for such negotiations.
The US has categorized journalist Evan Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, easing government participation in potential talks on his release. Russia hasn’t yet allowed US diplomats to visit him in jail. No trial date has yet been set. He faces a prison term of up to 20 years if convicted. The Journal denies the spying allegations.
Norway Will Expel 15 Russian Intelligence Officers (12:13 p.m.)
Norway will expel 15 Russians suspected of gathering intelligence while working under diplomatic cover at the country’s embassy in Oslo, Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt announced.
The officers, who had been engaged in activities “not compatible with their diplomatic status,” must leave Norway shortly, Huitfeldt said in a statement. The move follows the expulsion of three Russian intelligence officers in April 2022.
“Russia currently poses the greatest intelligence threat to Norway. We take this very seriously, and are now implementing measures to counter Russian intelligence activities in our country,” Huitfeldt said. She added that Norway “is seeking to maintain normal diplomatic relations with Russia.”
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