Peter Debbins
{{Short description|American spy for Russia}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2020}}
{{Infobox spy
| name = Peter Debbins
| birth_name = Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins
| codename1 = Ikar Lesnikov
| image =
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1975}}
| birth_place = Minnesota, U.S.
| education = University of Minnesota
| spouse = Yelena
| known_for = Espionage
| occupation = Former U.S. Army Green Beret
| allegiance = {{Flag|Russia|1960}}
| country = {{Flag|United States|1960}}
| branch = {{flag|United States Army}}
| serviceyears = 1998–2005
| criminal_charge = Conspiracy to gather or deliver defense information to aid a foreign government
| criminal_penalty = 188 months in prison
|criminal_status=Incarcerated at ADX Florence}}
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
Debbins' mother was a Russian-speaking Polish-Ukrainian and was born in Zaporozhye, Ukraine. Reportedly, her parents survived the Holodomor.{{Cite web|date=2018-02-20|title=Alumnus Spotlight: Peter Debbins, Army Special Forces, Russia analyst, and cyber instructor|url=https://www.iwp.edu/students-alumni/2018/02/20/alumnus-spotlight-peter-debbins-army-special-forces-russia-analyst-and-cyber-instructor/|access-date=2021-06-15|website=The Institute of World Politics|language=en-US|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805103646/https://www.iwp.edu/students-alumni/2018/02/20/alumnus-spotlight-peter-debbins-army-special-forces-russia-analyst-and-cyber-instructor/|archive-date=2020-08-05 |url-status=dead}} Debbins met and married his wife in Russia in 1997.{{cite news |last=Barakat |first=Matthew |title=Feds charge former Green Beret with espionage with Russia |date=August 21, 2020 |work=Associated Press |quote=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. |url=https://apnews.com/1b53c40143dd6603925f9932f22dcbd5 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20201006071144/https://apnews.com/article/1b53c40143dd6603925f9932f22dcbd5 |archive-date=October 6, 2020 |url-status=live}}
Education
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.{{cite web |title=Alumnus Spotlight: Peter Debbins, Army Special Forces, Russia analyst, and cyber instructor |date=August 21, 2020 |quote=Peter Debbins graduated from IWP in 2015 with a Professional M.A. in Strategic and International Studies. |url=https://www.iwp.edu/students-alumni/2018/02/20/alumnus-spotlight-peter-debbins-army-special-forces-russia-analyst-and-cyber-instructor/ |website=iwp.edu |publisher=The Institute of World Politics |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200821221045/https://www.iwp.edu/students-alumni/2018/02/20/alumnus-spotlight-peter-debbins-army-special-forces-russia-analyst-and-cyber-instructor/ |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |url-status=dead |access-date=August 22, 2020 }}
Military service
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.{{cite web |title=United States of America v. Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins |type=indictment |publisher=United States Department of Justice |date=August 20, 2020 |access-date=August 21, 2020 |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1307186/download |archive-date=August 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200822064402/https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1307186/download |url-status=live }} During this time, Debbins joined the Special Forces at the behest of his Russian contacts and became a Captain.{{cite news |author= |title=Former Army Green Beret Sentenced for Russian Espionage Conspiracy |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-army-green-beret-sentenced-russian-espionage-conspiracy |work=U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of Virginia |agency=Department of Justice |date=May 14, 2021 |access-date=May 24, 2021 |archive-date=May 24, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210524220102/https://www.justice.gov/usao-edva/pr/former-army-green-beret-sentenced-russian-espionage-conspiracy |url-status=live }}
In December 2005, he was honorably discharged.
He served in the United States Army's inactive reserve from 2005 until 2010.{{cite news |last=Goldman |first=Adam |title=Ex-Green Beret Charged With Spying for Russia in Elaborate Scheme |date=August 21, 2020 |newspaper=The New York Times |quote=He served in the United States Army's inactive reserve from 2005 until 2010. |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/us/politics/peter-debbins-russia-spying.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200821233451/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/08/21/us/politics/peter-debbins-russia-spying.html |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |url-status=live |access-date=August 22, 2020 }}
Peter Debbins was an instructor with IWP's Cyber Intelligence Initiative.{{cite web |title=Peter Debbins |access-date=17 November 2020 |website=iwp.edu |url=https://www.iwp.edu/cyber-intelligence-initiative-team/peter-debbins/ |publisher=The Institute of World Politics |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200821201831/https://www.iwp.edu/cyber-intelligence-initiative-team/peter-debbins/ |archive-date=21 August 2020 |quote=Peter Debbins is an instructor with IWP's Cyber Intelligence Initiative.}}
Foreign recruitment
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. 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. 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.{{Cite web |title=Inside the Mind of US-Russian Spy Peter Debbins |url=https://spyscape.com/article/inside-the-mind-of-us-russian-spy-peter-debbins |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=spyscape.com |language=en |archive-date=August 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809161742/https://spyscape.com/article/inside-the-mind-of-us-russian-spy-peter-debbins |url-status=live }}
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).{{Cite web |last=Charters |first=Justen |date=2020-08-22 |title=Investigating the U.S. Special Forces Vet Charged With Spying for Russia |url=https://strikesource.com/2020/08/22/investigating-the-u-s-special-forces-vet-charged-with-spying-for-russia/ |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Strike Source |language=en-US |archive-date=September 24, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220924185533/https://strikesource.com/2020/08/22/investigating-the-u-s-special-forces-vet-charged-with-spying-for-russia/ |url-status=live }} 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.{{Cite web |title=Former U.S. Green Beret Accused of Spying for Russia Wanted to Build Strategic Training Center in Armenia; U.S. Embassy Pleads Ignorance |url=https://hetq.am/en/article/121229 |access-date=2023-04-09 |website=Hetq.am |date=September 6, 2020 |language=en |archive-date=April 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230410121204/https://hetq.am/en/article/121229 |url-status=live }} Debbins gave several lectures at the Institute for World Politics in 2016,{{Cite web |title=Nagorno Karabakh conflict discussed at Institute of World Politics, Washington |url=https://armenpress.am/eng/news/844131 |access-date=2023-04-08 |website=armenpress.am |date=April 19, 2016 |language=en |archive-date=April 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160420131342/http://armenpress.am/eng/news/844131/ |url-status=live }} 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.
Arrest and legal proceedings
Debbins was arrested on August 21, 2020 at his home in Gainesville, Virginia.{{cite press release |title=Former Army Special Forces Officer Charged in Russian Espionage Conspiracy |date=August 21, 2020 |quote=A Gainesville, Virginia, man was arrested today for conspiring with Russian intelligence operatives to provide them with United States national defense information. |url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-army-special-forces-officer-charged-russian-espionage-conspiracy |website=United States Department of Justice |publisher=Office of Public Affairs |archive-url=https://archive.today/20200821231951/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-army-special-forces-officer-charged-russian-espionage-conspiracy |archive-date=August 21, 2020 |url-status=live}}{{Cite news |url=http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/22/us-special-forces-veteran-charged-with-spying-for-moscow |title=US special forces veteran charged with spying for Moscow |date=August 22, 2020 |newspaper=The Guardian |access-date=November 17, 2020 |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122060822/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/aug/22/us-special-forces-veteran-charged-with-spying-for-moscow |url-status=live }}
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.{{cite news |last1=Weiner |first1=Rachel |title=Former Army Green Beret admits conspiring to spy for Russia |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/green-beret-spy-russia/2020/11/18/a36d7e56-290e-11eb-92b7-6ef17b3fe3b4_story.html |access-date=November 18, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=November 18, 2020 |archive-date=November 19, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119023757/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/green-beret-spy-russia/2020/11/18/a36d7e56-290e-11eb-92b7-6ef17b3fe3b4_story.html |url-status=live }}
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.{{cite news |title=Former Army Green Beret jailed for 15 years for spying for Russia |last=Dunleavy |first=Jerry |date=May 14, 2021 |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/former-army-green-beret-jailed-15-years-spying-russia |archive-url=https://archive.today/20210514222641/https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/former-army-green-beret-jailed-15-years-spying-russia |archive-date=May 14, 2021 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Jackman |first1=Tom |first2=Rachel |last2=Weiner |title=Army captain who spied for Russia sentenced to 15 years in prison |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/peter-debbins-russia-spy-prison/2021/05/14/6aabc1d0-af5b-11eb-b476-c3b287e52a01_story.html |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=May 14, 2021 |access-date=June 4, 2021 |archive-date=May 15, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210515175318/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/peter-debbins-russia-spy-prison/2021/05/14/6aabc1d0-af5b-11eb-b476-c3b287e52a01_story.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Inmate Locator |url=https://www.bop.gov/inmateloc/ |access-date=2023-06-06 |website=www.bop.gov}} According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons he is scheduled for release on December 28, 2033.
References
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{{Soviet Spies}}
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Category:American people of Russian descent
Category:Military personnel from Minnesota
Category:University of Minnesota alumni
Category:United States Army officers
Category:American people convicted of spying for Russia
Category:Members of the United States Army Special Forces