Former US Army soldier reveals secret information about the war in Ukraine on a dating site. Woman pretended to be Ukrainian

A retired American officer revealed classified information about the war in Ukraine in a personal correspondence on a dating website. His interlocutor posed as a Ukrainian woman.

This is reported by the Associated Press.

David Slater, 64, retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2020. In 2021-2022, he served with the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and had access to information classified as “top secret”.

The case file shows that Slater had been talking about the war with an unknown woman via email and on a dating site messenger. In particular, in March 2022, the woman wrote: “Dear, what are the screens showing in that special room? That’s very interesting.” She also asked: “Dear Dave, do NATO and Biden have a secret plan to help us?”

The online friend called the officer “my secret informant, my love!” and also said, “You are my secret agent. With love”. Another message from the woman said, “Dave, I hope NATO has a very nice ʼsurpriseʼ for Putin tomorrow! Will you tell me?”

In April 2022, she noted: “My dear Dave, thank you for the valuable information — it’s great that two officials from the US are going to Kyiv.”

It is not known whether this person was from Ukraine, the Russian Federation, or another country. The platform where these conversations took place is also not named.

Prosecutors said Slater had received special training in handling confidential information, so "he should have suspected dishonesty". The suspect was arrested in March 2024 and pleaded guilty to conspiracy. He will be sentenced on October 8. The man faces 5 years and 10 months to 7 years and 3 months in prison.

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