(MENAFN) A retired US Army officer has confessed to leaking classified information about the Ukraine conflict to a woman he met through a foreign dating website, according to a press release from the US Justice Department last week.

David Slater, 64, was employed as a civilian with the US Air Force at the Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) when he conspired to share national defense information. The leaks occurred between February and April 2022, during the early months of the Russia-Ukraine war. USSTRATCOM is tasked with overseeing America’s nuclear command and control infrastructure.

Holding a top-secret security clearance, Slater worked in a classified environment at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and had access to highly sensitive intelligence briefings. Prosecutors said he later shared information from those briefings with someone he believed to be a Ukrainian woman he met online.

The pair communicated through a messaging feature on an unnamed foreign dating platform. Court documents reveal the woman frequently encouraged Slater to share sensitive details, referring to him as “my secret informant love” and “my secret agent.” In one message, she asked, “Dear, what is shown on the screens in the special room??”

Prosecutors said Slater revealed information about military targets, Russian military capabilities, and US and NATO planning. The woman’s identity remains unknown, and it’s unclear if she was acting on behalf of a foreign government.

US Attorney Lesley Woods stated that Slater “failed in his duty” to protect classified information. FBI Special Agent Eugene Kowel said Slater “betrayed an oath” to safeguard national security.

Slater faces up to ten years in prison but may serve less under a plea deal. Sentencing is scheduled for October 8.

This case echoes a 2023 incident involving Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guard member who admitted to leaking highly classified documents on Discord, including intelligence on Ukraine’s battlefield situation.

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