What happened
A 41-year-old senior US Army soldier has been taken into custody near Gloucester over allegations that he committed acts of espionage for Russia. The man, who is understood to have been based at Imjin Barracks, was detained yesterday under the UK’s National Security Act 2023. The barracks are home to the headquarters of Nato’s Allied Rapid Reaction Corps, a strategic command responsible for deploying forces across the alliance.

Who said what
Counter Terrorism Policing London described the arrest as “significant”. FBI director Kash Patel said the espionage allegations were “of the utmost concern” to the US and its allies.

The investigation is “not linked to any other ongoing counter-terror operations”, said Courtney Kube on NBC News, but the arrest “comes at a time of heightened tensions around the threats from hostile states, with British security services saying Russia and Iran have both used proxies to commit crimes on UK soil”.

What next?
The soldier remains in custody at a London police station. Under the National Security Act police can hold suspects for up to 14 days without charge. Authorities said the investigation remained ongoing and was not connected to any other current probe.

What happened
The Duchess of Sussex has made her first appearance since her father was charged with possession of child sex abuse material, attending a European Parliament event in Brussels alongside her husband Prince Harry. The Duke of Sussex gave a solo speech calling for greater protection for children online after Meghan reportedly withdrew from the address.

Who said what
In his speech Harry said “all children deserve to feel safe wherever they are” and that the focus should be on “preventing harm before it happens, rather than waiting for tragedy” to strike.

The couple had reportedly been set to deliver the address together, but sources told The Telegraph on Monday that Meghan was “just not strong enough, emotionally, to be doing any public speaking right now”.

Her father Thomas Markle, 82, was arrested by FBI agents in Florida last month after police allegedly seized child sex abuse material from storage units that he rented in the Los Angeles area.

What next?
Markle – who moved to Cebu in the Philippines last year (where police are also conducting an investigation) before returning to the US this year for medical treatment – has denied the allegations, calling them “sick lies”. Jonvic Remulla, the Philippine interior minister, said the investigation of Markle would take time and that authorities would “have to consider all the angles”.

Violent clashes between more than 200 protesters and Ukrainian police and military personnel at an army holding centre on the outskirts of Kyiv could have been the work of Russian disinformation agents.

On 2 November a crowd gathered outside the building in Petropavlivska Borshchahivka in response to reports on social media and local Telegram channels that Ukrainian soldiers “were being illegally detained and tortured” inside, said local outlet UA.News.

The angry mob clashed with police after attempting to storm the building, which was later identified by officials as a “temporary deployment site” for draftees and former deserters run by the “Azov” Corps of Ukraine’s National Guard.

The National Police of Ukraine and Security Service of Ukraine have so far identified 130 people who may have been involved in the unrest, which they believe was fuelled by Russian disinformation.

However, Kyrylo Budanov, the head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, has cautioned against dismissing the incident as merely an act of Russian provocation, arguing that it had exposed deeper societal tensions over conscription.

“Forced mobilisation – a reality of Ukrainian life under martial law – remains one of the greatest sources of social and political tension in Ukraine, frequently leading to violent clashes between recruiters and civilians,” said The Kyiv Independent.

Budanov has warned that Ukraine needs to mobilise at least 30,000 new recruits each month just to maintain the current defence against Russia. 

New military contracts designed to reduce desertion rates and draft dodging seek to make infantry roles more attractive by offering higher salaries and fixed terms of service for those willing to fight on the front lines.

But the problem ultimately remains a simple one, an official from the country’s defence ministry said: “There just are not enough people.”