• Retired Army officer David Slater pleaded guilty to sharing classified war information.
• Information was shared via a foreign dating platform involving military targets and capabilities.
• Sentencing is set for October 8, with a potential prison term of 5 to 10 years.
• The charge could result in a maximum sentence of 10 years behind bars.
• Details about the co-conspirator and dating platform remain undisclosed.

David Slater, a 64-year-old retired US Army officer who also worked as a civilian at the Air Force, has pleaded guilty to conspiring to transmit classified information about Russia’s war with Ukraine through a foreign online dating platform. Slater, who held top-secret clearance while employed at the US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) at Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska, accepted guilt before a federal magistrate judge in Omaha, which resulted in two other counts being dropped against him, according to SCMP, CBS News, and HuffPost.

Slater's sentencing is scheduled for October 8, during which federal prosecutors and his defense counsel have jointly recommended a prison term ranging from five years and ten months to seven years and three months, with the possibility of a ten-year maximum sentence being imposed. U.S. District Judge Brian Buescher will have the discretion to determine whether to accept this plea agreement, as noted by SCMP and HuffPost.

Throughout his tenure, Slater had access to highly sensitive, classified briefings regarding military strategies relating to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which were classified up to the top-secret level. U.S. Attorney Lesley Woods emphasized that Slater "failed in his duty to protect this information" by communicating it to "an unknown online personality" without proper caution, which he should have acquired through his military experience, according to CBS News and HuffPost.

The court documents indicate that Slater communicated classified information through a messaging feature of the dating platform, sharing details about military targets and Russian forces with a co-conspirator who represented herself as a woman living in Ukraine. Slater acknowledged that he was aware that such information could potentially harm the United States or advantage a foreign entity, as detailed in statements from CBS News and SCMP.

Messages exchanged between Slater and the co-conspirator revealed an ongoing request for classified military intelligence, wherein she affectionately referred to him in terms like “my secret informant love” and expressed eagerness for information on NATO’s actions against Russia, such as “Will you tell me?” in specific communications. However, the identities of both the dating platform and the co-conspirator remain undisclosed, according to CBS News, SCMP, and HuffPost.