Russian jailed for 13 years for passing secrets to CIA

A military court yesterday convicted a Russian officer of passing missile secrets to the CIA and sentenced him to 13 years in prison.

Lieutenant colonel Vlad-imir Nesterets was also stripped of his military rank after pleading guilty to passing classified information about Russian missile tests to the CIA for money, according to the Federal Security Service, the main agency that replaced the KGB.

The agency said Nesterets committed treason as he worked as a senior engineer at the Plesetsk launch pad in north-west Russia, a facility the military uses to launch satellites and test missiles.

The security service’s statement did not say when Nesterets had been arrested or give any further details about his case.

The conviction comes amid growing tension in US-Russian relations, despite President Barack Obama’s efforts to “reset” them from strains that had developed during the previous US administration.

Relations between Moscow and Washington have worsened over a new US-led missile defence system being developed by Nato around Europe, and Russia teaming with China to block a UN Security Council resolution that would have urged Syrian president Bashar al-Assad to step down.

Russian prime minister Vladimir Putin has been increasingly eager to challenge the US as he campaigns to reclaim his nation’s presidency in next month’s election. He has accused Washington of fuelling the massive protests that have recently taken place against his rule in order to weaken the nation.

This week, Putin’s protégé, president Dmitry Medvedev, praised the Federal Security Service for exposing 41 foreign intelligent officers and 158 of their agents last year.