As in “The Double”: as a veteran of the “green caps” he spied for Moscow – International

Peter Rafael Dzibinski Debbins, a former US special forces captain, was arrested on August 21 for espionage and the American was accused of collaborating with the Chief Directorate of Intelligence (GRU), the Russian military intelligence service.

A story with Hollywood worthy spies

Debbins’ story appears to be taken straight from a Hollywood film, her ties to Russians starting with her mother who was a naturalized citizen of the United States after emigrating from the Soviet Union.

In 1994, when he was only 19, Peter Debbins was a student at the University of Minnesota and went to Russia for the first time. On a subsequent visit in 1996-1997 as part of a study program in Chelyabinsk, he was contacted by the Russian secret services, which began evaluating and testing his potential as a secret agent.

Debbins’ recruitment and training officially began in October 1997, his collaboration with the Russians continued during his time as a member of the US military, between 2005 and 2010 he reported to a GRU front company , Eastern Marketing Solutions.

Initial research found that Debbins was part of the intelligence and defense community in the US, UK and NATO, and was employed by several defense contractors.

What makes Debbins’ case even more remarkable is her status in those communities as well as her analyzes, reports and presentations in the areas of defense and intelligence. All of this now needs to be revised after its partnership with GRU is discovered.

The efforts of the Russians to recruit Peter Debbins

Every story has a beginning, and Debbins’ espionage case is no exception. GRU approached the man in Chelyabinsk and asked him if he was willing to have a meeting with Russian dating agents. He accepted without being pressured.

Debbins said he was “a child of Russia” and that this, his third visit to Russia, was, like the previous two, to learn more about his mother’s birthplace, describing himself as a professional. -Russia and anti-US.

He said he also had a Russian girlfriend and went on to tell Russian secret agents that he had joined the US military officer training program, noting that he would become a US military officer upon graduation.

Not knowing what kind of resource Debbins could become, but seeing his potential, GRU gave him a simple task to see his willingness to follow orders and maintain discretion. He was told not to talk about his GRU encounters with his Russian girlfriend and was given a plausible cover story to explain his absences during meetings with Russian intelligence agents.

They asked Debbins to go to a Catholic church in Chelyabinsk and get the names of four American church nuns. mention his family’s ties to Russia or his visits to the country to US military officials.

Debbins said he was discreet on the subject and Russian agents relied on his girlfriend’s father being a member of the Russian military and would inform his superiors if he talked about his meetings with the GRU.

And Debbins did not report his US intelligence approach to GRU agents after he left Chelyabinsk. The Russians realized they had a potential agent in his person. However, they had very little risk.

Had Debbins reported his meeting with the GRU, the US could at worst have accused Russia of harassing an American student, which could have easily been trivialized by the Russians. But Debbins has made their lives easier by keeping his meetings with Russian intelligence agencies secret.

Strengthen collaboration and espionage

The fact that he did not inform the US authorities of his approach by the intelligence agency of a foreign power shows the mentality of an individual who tacitly agreed to meet again with Russian secret officers in case he returned to Russia, which was he will clearly do so as he was in love with his girlfriend in Chelyabinsk, according to US prosecutors.

The GRU captured the American exactly where it wanted and did not have to wait long in the hope that it would be able to lure him onto the Russian intelligence boat. Debbins graduated from the University of Minnesota in September 1997 and joined the United States Army in July 1998.

The indictment of American prosecutors states that “between September 1997 and July 1998 Debbins lived and worked in Russia. During the 10 months he married his girlfriend from Chelyabinsk and the GRU formalized the clandestine relationship they had with their emerging resource Peter Debbins. “

“Debbins took advantage of his role in the military and betrayed the trust placed in him by other colleagues for the benefit of one of our most important enemies,” the FBI report said.