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Peter Debbins

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Peter Debbins
Born
Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins

1975 (age 48–49)
Minnesota, U.S.
EducationUniversity of Minnesota
OccupationFormer U.S. Army Green Beret
Known forEspionage
Criminal chargeConspiracy to gather or deliver defense information to aid a foreign government
Criminal penalty188 months in prison
Criminal statusIncarcerated at ADX Florence
SpouseYelena
Espionage activity
Country United States
Allegiance Russia
Service branch United States Army
Service years1998–2005
Rank Captain
CodenameIkar Lesnikov

Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins is an American convicted spy for Russia and a former military officer in the U.S. Army's Special Forces. In August 2020, he was arrested and charged with conspiracy to provide classified defense information to Russian intelligence services. Debbins pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit espionage on November 18, 2020.

Early life

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Debbins' mother was Russian and was born in the Soviet Union. Reportedly, she was a survivor of the Holodomor.[1] Debbins met and married his wife in Russia in 1997.[2]

Education

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In 1997, Debbins graduated from the University of Minnesota, where he was a member of the Reserve Officers' Training Corps.

In 2015, he graduated with a master's degree in Strategic and International Studies from The Institute of World Politics.[3]

Military service

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In July 1998, Debbins began his active service duty in the Army. From 1998 to 2005, he was deployed overseas in Korea, Germany, and Azerbaijan.[4] During this time, Debbins joined the Special Forces at the behest of his Russian contacts and became a Captain.[5]

In December 2005, he was honorably discharged.

He served in the United States Army's inactive reserve from 2005 until 2010.[6]

Peter Debbins was an instructor with IWP's Cyber Intelligence Initiative.[7]

Foreign recruitment

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Debbins was first approached by Russian officers in December 1996. During this encounter, he told the officers that he was a "son of Russia." In 1997, shortly after his college graduation, Debbins once again returned to Russia, where he was given the code name "Ikar Lesnikov". In one meeting in 2003, Debbins accepted a bottle of Cognac and a Russian military uniform as payment.[2] In 2008, Debbins relayed his classified activities in the Special Forces to Russian agents and offered his former Special Forces colleagues' names for potential recruitment.[5] Up until at least 2011, Debbins would periodically visit Russia in order to meet with Russian intelligence officers. In 2012, the GRU contacted his father-in-law, a Colonel in the Russian Air Force, about the affair.[8]

In 2004, Debbins' security clearance was suspended after an unspecified incident in Azerbaijan. Debbins then entered the private sector as a consultant on Azerbaijan in 2005. In 2013 Debbins founded a company called Horizon Leadership Group (HLG).[9] HLG pitched a plan to build a training center in Armenia which never came to fruition. The US state department gave the standard denial in response to questions about the existence of this program.[10] Debbins gave several lectures at the Institute for World Politics in 2016,[11] specifically pertaining to Russia's relationship with Armenia and the potential for conflict in the region. Debbins' activities in the Lesser Caucasus were his primary contribution to Russian Intelligence though this detail was less publicized after his arrest.

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Debbins was arrested on August 21, 2020 at his home in Gainesville, Virginia.[12][13] It is noteworthy that his arrest immediately preceded the 2020 Second Nagorno-Karabakh War, considering his primary expertise in this relatively obscure region detailed above.

On November 18, 2020, Debbins pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia to one count of conspiracy to commit espionage, which carries a penalty of up to life in prison.[14]

In May 2021, U.S. District Judge Claude Hilton sentenced Debbins to 188 months in federal prison. Debbins is currently incarcerated at ADX Florence, the federal supermax in Florence, Colorado.[15][16][17] According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons he is scheduled for release on December 28, 2033.

References

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  1. ^ "Alumnus Spotlight: Peter Debbins, Army Special Forces, Russia analyst, and cyber instructor". The Institute of World Politics. February 20, 2018. Archived from the original on August 5, 2020. Retrieved June 15, 2021.
  2. ^ a b Barakat, Matthew (August 21, 2020). "Feds charge former Green Beret with espionage with Russia". Associated Press. Archived from the original on October 6, 2020. Debbins' mother was born in the Soviet Union, and Debbins met his wife in the Russian city of Chelyabinsk, where they were married in 1997, according to the indictment. ... In one meeting with Russian intelligence, he accepted a bottle of Cognac and a Russian military uniform as payment, according to the indictment.
  3. ^ "Alumnus Spotlight: Peter Debbins, Army Special Forces, Russia analyst, and cyber instructor". iwp.edu. The Institute of World Politics. August 21, 2020. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020. Peter Debbins graduated from IWP in 2015 with a Professional M.A. in Strategic and International Studies.
  4. ^ "United States of America v. Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins" (indictment). United States Department of Justice. August 20, 2020. Archived from the original on August 22, 2020. Retrieved August 21, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Former Army Green Beret Sentenced for Russian Espionage Conspiracy". U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia. Department of Justice. May 14, 2021. Archived from the original on May 24, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  6. ^ Goldman, Adam (August 21, 2020). "Ex-Green Beret Charged With Spying for Russia in Elaborate Scheme". The New York Times. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020. He served in the United States Army's inactive reserve from 2005 until 2010.
  7. ^ "Peter Debbins". iwp.edu. The Institute of World Politics. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020. Peter Debbins is an instructor with IWP's Cyber Intelligence Initiative.
  8. ^ "Inside the Mind of US-Russian Spy Peter Debbins". spyscape.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  9. ^ Charters, Justen (August 22, 2020). "Investigating the U.S. Special Forces Vet Charged With Spying for Russia". Strike Source. Archived from the original on September 24, 2022. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  10. ^ "Former U.S. Green Beret Accused of Spying for Russia Wanted to Build Strategic Training Center in Armenia; U.S. Embassy Pleads Ignorance". Hetq.am. September 6, 2020. Archived from the original on April 10, 2023. Retrieved April 9, 2023.
  11. ^ "Nagorno Karabakh conflict discussed at Institute of World Politics, Washington". armenpress.am. April 19, 2016. Archived from the original on April 20, 2016. Retrieved April 8, 2023.
  12. ^ "Former Army Special Forces Officer Charged in Russian Espionage Conspiracy". United States Department of Justice (Press release). Office of Public Affairs. August 21, 2020. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. A Gainesville, Virginia, man was arrested today for conspiring with Russian intelligence operatives to provide them with United States national defense information.
  13. ^ "US special forces veteran charged with spying for Moscow". The Guardian. August 22, 2020. Archived from the original on November 22, 2020. Retrieved November 17, 2020.
  14. ^ Weiner, Rachel (November 18, 2020). "Former Army Green Beret admits conspiring to spy for Russia". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Dunleavy, Jerry (May 14, 2021). "Former Army Green Beret jailed for 15 years for spying for Russia". Archived from the original on May 14, 2021.
  16. ^ Jackman, Tom; Weiner, Rachel (May 14, 2021). "Army captain who spied for Russia sentenced to 15 years in prison". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on May 15, 2021. Retrieved June 4, 2021.
  17. ^ "Inmate Locator". www.bop.gov. Retrieved June 6, 2023.
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