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Five men arrested near a key U.S. bomber base in the U.K. on Sunday may have planned a “complex,” coordinated attack with potentially far-reaching security implications for American military installations globally, a former U.S. intelligence official warned.

As counterterrorism police investigated after officers detained the suspects near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a former Pentagon official also said President Donald Trump will ultimately be the one to decide the consequences if indeed the “trail leads to Tehran.”

The men were initially held on suspicion of offenses under Britain’s Explosives Act before being arrested on terrorism charges in connection with the airfield, a key U.S. Air Force hub and the primary European base for American strategic bombers.

On Sunday, Trump said U.S. authorities had been monitoring the suspects prior to their capture.

FORMER UK PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR WARNS EUROPE ‘WE DON’T WIN’ IN WAR WITHOUT US SUPPORT

“We had them under investigation,” Trump told reporters in Chicago. “They were looking to do big damage to our fort.”

“It may have been Scotland Yard. I don’t know. We worked with a lot of them. We had them under view for a long time, and we got them,” Trump added.

According to Sky News, counterterrorism police were investigating whether Iran is linked to the suspected bomb plot.

Former Trump White House official Morgan Murphy told Fox News Digital that British authorities are leading the investigation alongside U.S. law enforcement and intelligence.

“Every phone, bank record and rental receipt will be run through British and American intelligence, and if the trail leads to Tehran, it will be found,” Murphy clarified.

“But as American airmen and bombers seem to have been the target, Air Force investigators on the base, the FBI in London, and American intelligence will likely all work the case.”

“If conclusive evidence proves Iran is behind an attempted attack on U.S. forces, the American President will ultimately decide how Tehran pays,” Murphy added.

BRITAIN INTRODUCES SWEEPING NEW POWERS TO TARGET FOREIGN STATE-LINKED GROUPS INCLUDING IRAN’S IRGC

Former Defense Intelligence Agency official Andrew Badger told Fox News Digital the number of suspects and vehicles involved raised the possibility of a sophisticated operation.

“We are going to see elevated security protocols across Europe, across the U.K., and across the entire world for any U.S. installation,” he said.

“This is a very significant threat, and again, seeing that we had five individuals involved and three different reported vans at the scene, this could have been a very complex, highly orchestrated operation,” Badger added.

“This isn’t just some type of amateur lone wolf operation,” he said, noting Fairford’s strategic importance to the U.S. military. “Fairford is also where the U.S. houses its strategic bombers for Europe as well as the rest of the world.”

He said a potential attack posed broader risks beyond the airfield itself which he said “could have had significant security implications. It could have damaged the nearby area.”

HOW IRAN ATTACKS ARE FORCING THE PENTAGON TO RETHINK ITS DECADES-OLD MIDDLE EAST BASE STRATEGY

“They could have tried to use a VBIED or a vehicle-borne explosive device where the first van could have gone off at the front gate, and then the other vans would have gone in and tried to go for the strategic bombers,” Badger said.

British authorities have not publicly identified who they believe was behind the suspected plot or announced a motive, but RAF Fairford had taken on greater strategic importance during the war with Iran.

The U.K. government previously authorized U.S. forces to use the Royal Air Force bases Fairford and Diego Garcia for limited defensive operations, including destroying Iranian missiles and launchers at their source.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) later warned that any base used to attack Iranian territory would be considered a legitimate target.

“Any base used to launch attacks on Iranian territory is a legitimate target for our forces,” the IRGC said, according to reports.

“Tehran warned London in July to keep American bombers off Fairford, and if this plot traces back to Iran, the answer must be more bombers, not fewer,” Morgan said.

IRAN EXPERT BRANDS ISLAMIC CENTER OF ENGLAND IRAN’S ‘UK OFFICE,’ URGES IMMEDIATE CLOSURE

A local councilor told Reuters there had been a recent security alert at Fairford and surveillance had been stepped up.

“So there was a specific threat about six weeks ago from the Iranians on this base. At the time, there was increased surveillance around the area,” he told the outlet.

Badger, however, cautioned against assuming Iran was responsible while pointing to other potential threats.

“This could be Iran trying to gain strategic leverage in negotiations, but there are other actors as well,” Badger added.

“But there’s Russia, who’s been launching a campaign of gray zone or hybrid warfare attacks across Europe, as well as Islamic extremists, which are still a significant threat here in the U.K.”

“Was this some type of retaliation by Iran to perhaps try to gain leverage or to try to inflict a cost for the U.S. withdrawing from these negotiations? Again, we don’t know for sure, but it is a possibility,” Badger said.

Badger also pointed to RAF Welford, a major U.S. ammunition storage facility that primarily supports operations at RAF Fairford.

US EMBASSIES IN MIDDLE EAST WARN AMERICANS OF ‘UNFORESEEN ESCALATION’ AS LATEST STRIKES HIT IRAN

“RAF Welford is actually the second-largest weapons and ammunition depot in all of Europe,” Badger said, noting that the facility where the U.S. stores ammunition “could have been a target as well.”

“Other bases across Europe, including European and U.S. partners, have already been on a heightened state of alert,” Badger continued.

“But of course, after this attack, I think they’re going to be in an even more heightened state. You’re going to have more frequent security patrols.”

“There are reports that RAF Fairford was put onto what’s called the Delta alert, which is the highest state of security alert within the military base system,” Badger said.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“So this is basically that ‘an imminent terrorist attack is inbound,'” he concluded.

Two FBI counterterrorism leaders have been demoted following complaints about the handling of an investigation into allegedly threatening phone calls made to Katie Miller, MAGA podcaster and wife of White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, according to reports.

Head of the Washington Field Office’s counterterrorism division, Michael Burgwald, and his deputy, Courtland Rae, were both demoted and sent to bureau headquarters Friday, sources told Bloomberg Law. Both officials have years of national security experience, according to reports, and were also involved in investigating the January 6th, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

According to MS NOW, Burgwald was ousted after his office was askedto investigate alleged harassing phone calls made to Katie Miller. However, the team determined the alleged threats didn’t meet the threshold required for an FBI investigation, nor was a connection to terrorism identified, CNN reported.

“Harassing phone calls aren’t even in the ballpark of terrorism unless an actual terrorist is doing the dialing,” one former FBI official told MS NOW.

The decision not to investigate allegedly angered FBI leadership and Burgwald was already known to have a strained relationship with FBI Director Kash Patel.

Two longtime FBI agents were demoted after determining harassing phone calls to Stephen Miller’s wife did not warrant an FBI investigation, according to reports (Getty)

According to MS NOW, Stephen Miller, who runs President Donald Trump’s aggressive deportation campaign, and Patel were upset that Burgwald and Rae questioned the legitimacy of the investigation. Darren Cox, assistant director-in-charge of the Washington field office, ordered their removal.

CNN also reported that Burgwald and Rae were removed from their roles. Details about thealleged calls to Katie Miller were not shared by officials or the reports.

White House spokesperson Lauren Bistold The Independent that the Miller family has never interacted with or met the demoted FBI officials.

“Senior leadership at the FBI determined they were stifling investigations into very serious threats and made a unilateral decision to remove them,” Bis said.

Cox said Patel did not make the decision to oust the two veteran agents.

Since taking office last year, Patel has fired or demoted countless career employees who handled past investigations into Trump and his allies. (Reuters)

“Director Patel did not order this decision. This was a personnel decision made at the Washington field office level alone based on our constant evaluation of mission needs,” Cox posted in a statement on X Saturday. Any suggestion otherwise is false.”

The Independent has contacted the FBI for more information.

Since becoming head of the FBI, Patel has fired or demoted dozens of career employees including those who handled past investigations into Trump and his allies.

The Millers, who welcomed their fourth child in June, moved last fall from their Arlington, Virginia, home into military housing after a number of threats were allegedly made against them.

NEW YORK — The FBI has formally responded to a Midtown Tribune records request concerning
Konstantin Borovoy
and the period before September 11, 2001. The bureau declined to confirm or deny whether responsive records exist. The request is part of a broader documentary investigation into Borovoy’s public claim that he warned U.S. officials in 1999 about Osama bin Laden, civilian aircraft, New York and alleged Russian intelligence involvement.

September 24, 2026 | Midtown Tribune Investigations Desk

Editorial clarification: Midtown Tribune is investigating Borovoy’s allegations and related open-source historical material. We are not reporting as established fact that the Kremlin, the Soviet Union, Russian intelligence, or Vladimir Putin planned or directed the September 11 attacks. The official U.S. record attributes the attacks to al-Qaeda. The purpose of this investigation is to determine whether contemporaneous records support, contradict or clarify Borovoy’s claims.

The New Development: The FBI Has Responded

On September 17, 2026, the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent Midtown Tribune a formal response to a Freedom of Information Act request seeking records concerning Konstantin Borovoy from the period before September 11, 2001.

The FBI assigned the matter FOIPA Request No. 1757298-000 and identified the subject as:

“BOROVOY, KONSTANTIN (Before September 11, 2001)”

The FBI did not say that no records exist.

Instead, because the request concerns another living individual, the bureau said it would “neither confirm nor deny the existence of such records” under FOIA privacy exemptions (b)(6) and (b)(7)(C).

The FBI also stated that this standard response should not be interpreted to mean that records either exist or do not exist.

That distinction is central. The FBI response does not validate Borovoy’s allegations, but it also does not resolve whether responsive records exist.

Why Midtown Tribune Requested the Records

The FBI request is not the subject of the investigation. It is one tool being used to search for contemporaneous evidence.

Midtown Tribune is examining a specific historical claim: whether Borovoy provided U.S. authorities before September 11, 2001 with information alleging that Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda were preparing an attack involving civilian aircraft and New York, and whether that information also alleged involvement or cooperation by Russian intelligence or security structures.

The investigation asks four separate questions:

• Did Borovoy actually provide such information to U.S. officials before September 11, 2001?
• If he did, what exactly did he say and when did he say it?
• Did his information include a specific allegation concerning Russian intelligence or security services?
• Do contemporaneous U.S. government records support, contradict or materially qualify his later account?

Those questions should not be collapsed into a conclusion. Proof that a warning was delivered would not automatically prove that the warning was accurate. Proof of historical Soviet relationships with militant organizations would not automatically prove Russian involvement in 9/11.

What Borovoy Publicly Claimed

In a 2020 interview published by Gordon, Borovoy was asked directly about his claim that Russian intelligence services were involved in planning an attack by Osama bin Laden’s terrorists against the United States.

Borovoy answered that he had traveled to the United States in 1999 carrying information about preparations for terrorist attacks. He described the information as alleging that bin Laden and al-Qaeda intended to use civilian aircraft against skyscrapers in New York.

He further said that he told a deputy director of the FBI in Washington about the information.

These are Borovoy’s statements, not independently established findings by Midtown Tribune.

Source: Gordon interview with Konstantin Borovoy.

Borovoy’s Claimed Source: Two GRU Officers

In the same interview, Borovoy said that the information came from two officers whom he identified as GRU officers. According to his account, those officers told him about bin Laden while he was investigating other allegations involving Russian security structures.

Borovoy also claimed that a later FBI inquiry made with the assistance of a U.S. congressman confirmed that the FBI had possessed such information but had failed to act on it because of poor coordination among agencies.

Midtown Tribune has not yet obtained the alleged 2003 FBI response described by Borovoy. Until such a document is produced and authenticated, that portion remains Borovoy’s claim.

A Contemporaneous Fact: Borovoy Was Testifying in Washington in 1999

There is independent official evidence placing Borovoy in Washington during the relevant period.

On October 7, 1999, Borovoy testified before the U.S. House Committee on International Relations at a hearing titled U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Part II: Corruption in the Russian Government.

The official congressional record identifies him as a Russian State Duma deputy and chairman of the Economic Freedom Party.

In that testimony, Borovoy warned about the criminalization of Russian political power, hostility toward the United States and NATO, and the possibility that Russia could develop into what he called a “small evil empire” hostile to the democratic world. He also warned that U.S. policy could produce circumstances resembling events preceding Pearl Harbor.

Source: U.S. Government Publishing Office — October 7, 1999 House hearing.

But the public transcript of that hearing does not contain Borovoy’s later specific claim about bin Laden, civilian aircraft striking New York skyscrapers or Russian intelligence involvement in such an operation.

That absence is important. It is one reason Midtown Tribune is seeking other contemporaneous records.

Why Midtown Tribune Is Also Examining the Soviet-Era Record

Borovoy’s allegation concerns post-Soviet Russian intelligence. Midtown Tribune is also reviewing older open-source material because some former Soviet-bloc intelligence officials described a much earlier history of state contact with militant organizations and aircraft hijacking.

This historical material may provide context. It does not by itself establish continuity from Soviet operations to the September 11 plot.

Ion Mihai Pacepa’s Claim About the KGB and Passenger Aircraft

Ion Mihai Pacepa, a former senior Romanian intelligence official who defected to the United States, later made a striking retrospective allegation about Soviet intelligence and terrorism.

Writing in 2011, Pacepa said that KGB chairman Yuri Andropov viewed international terrorism as a strategic weapon and claimed that hijacked passenger aircraft became a KGB terrorist tool beginning in 1969.

Pacepa further claimed that a series of major hijackings had been organized through KGB structures and carried out by militants trained by the KGB.

Source: Ion Mihai Pacepa, “What I Remember,” National Review, 2011.

Midtown Tribune treats this as Pacepa’s retrospective allegation. It is not equivalent to an official finding that the Soviet Union created the specific September 11 method of crashing hijacked civilian aircraft into buildings.

What Archival Records Show About the KGB and Wadi Haddad

Separate archival material provides documentary evidence of a covert relationship between the KGB and Wadi Haddad, who headed external operations for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.

A KGB memorandum dated April 23, 1974, reproduced and translated by the Bukovsky Archives, states that the KGB had maintained secret working contact with Haddad since 1968. The document says the relationship allowed Soviet intelligence to exercise influence over the PFLP’s external-operations section and potentially pursue Soviet objectives through the organization while preserving secrecy.

Source: Bukovsky Archives — KGB memorandum, April 23, 1974.

A second KGB document dated May 16, 1975, also reproduced by the Bukovsky Archives, describes Haddad as a trusted KGB intelligence agent and records a covert Soviet transfer of foreign-made weapons and ammunition to him.

Source: Bukovsky Archives — KGB memorandum, May 16, 1975.

These documents are relevant to the historical question of Soviet relationships with militant organizations. They do not establish that the KGB planned the September 11 attacks.

U.S. Government Records Confirm Earlier Terrorist Hijackings of New York-Bound Aircraft

Official U.S. records provide another part of the historical background.

On September 6, 1970, members of the PFLP launched a coordinated series of aircraft hijackings. U.S. State Department records show that TWA Flight 741 was scheduled from Frankfurt to New York and Swissair Flight 100 from Zurich to New York when they were hijacked. Other aircraft were also targeted in the operation.

Source: U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian — September 6, 1970 telegram on multiple hijackings.

A National Archives account of the same episode describes four commercial aircraft in Europe destined for New York City as targets of the coordinated September 1970 operation.

Source: U.S. National Archives — historical review of the September 1970 hijackings.

But the 1970 operation involved hijacking, hostage-taking and destruction of aircraft after passengers were removed. These U.S. archival records do not establish a Soviet plan to crash civilian aircraft into New York skyscrapers.

What the Official 9/11 Record Says

The established U.S. account attributes the September 11 attacks to al-Qaeda.

The FBI’s official history of the investigation states that the 19 hijackers were trained by al-Qaeda and that the Bureau opened the PENTTBOM investigation immediately after the attacks.

Source: FBI — 9/11 Investigation.

The 9/11 Commission reconstructed the development of the plot within al-Qaeda, including the roles of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Osama bin Laden.

The Commission also reported that the available evidence showed the 19 operatives were funded by al-Qaeda and that it found no evidence that a foreign government or foreign government official supplied funding for the plot.

Source: National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States — Chapter 5.

That finding is significant, but it should not be stretched beyond what it says. A finding concerning financing is not automatically a finding about every conceivable intelligence contact, relationship, source, warning or form of assistance.

What the Current Evidence Does — and Does Not — Show

What is documented

• Borovoy publicly claimed that in 1999 he carried information to the United States concerning bin Laden, al-Qaeda, civilian aircraft and New York.
• Borovoy publicly alleged that the information included a Russian-intelligence dimension.
• Borovoy was in Washington and testified before Congress in October 1999 on Russian political and security concerns.
• Pacepa later alleged that Soviet intelligence had adopted aircraft hijacking as a terrorist instrument decades earlier.
• Archival KGB material reproduced by the Bukovsky Archives documents a covert KGB relationship with Wadi Haddad, a major PFLP external-operations figure.
• Official U.S. records document PFLP hijackings of New York-bound passenger aircraft in 1970.
• The official U.S. 9/11 record attributes the attacks to al-Qaeda.
• The FBI has now declined to confirm or deny whether it holds responsive pre-9/11 records concerning Borovoy.

What is not established

• Midtown Tribune has not established that the Kremlin planned the September 11 attacks.
• Midtown Tribune has not established that Vladimir Putin personally ordered or approved the attacks.
• Midtown Tribune has not established that Russian intelligence directed Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda’s 9/11 operation.
• Midtown Tribune has not established that the Soviet Union designed the specific tactic of crashing civilian passenger aircraft into New York skyscrapers.
• Midtown Tribune has not yet obtained a contemporaneous FBI document confirming Borovoy’s claimed 1999 warning.
• Midtown Tribune has not yet obtained the 2003 FBI response Borovoy says confirmed that the information had existed inside the U.S. government.

What the FBI’s New Letter Means

The September 17, 2026 FBI letter is important because it creates a documented new step in the records search.

It confirms that the FBI formally processed Midtown Tribune’s request under FOIPA Request No. 1757298-000 and identified its subject as “BOROVOY, KONSTANTIN (Before September 11, 2001).”

But because the request concerned a third party, the bureau invoked privacy exemptions and declined to confirm or deny whether responsive records exist.

The letter therefore cannot honestly be described as either:

• “The FBI confirmed Borovoy’s warning,” or
• “The FBI confirmed there are no Borovoy records.”

Neither statement is supported by the response.

Midtown Tribune Has Asked Borovoy to Request His Own Records

After receiving the FBI response, Midtown Tribune contacted Borovoy and asked him to consider filing his own first-person request for FBI records covering the period from January 1, 1999 through September 11, 2001.

The purpose is straightforward: the FBI’s current response is based on privacy protections applicable to a request concerning another person. A request from Borovoy himself could permit a different records review, although other legal exemptions could still apply.

Midtown Tribune has supplied Borovoy with draft language for such a request.

The Evidence Midtown Tribune Is Looking For

The investigation is now focused on documents created before September 11, 2001.

Particularly important would be authenticated records showing that, before the attacks, U.S. officials received information combining some or all of the following elements:

• Osama bin Laden or al-Qaeda;
• civilian passenger aircraft;
• New York or New York skyscrapers;
• a planned attack against the United States;
• and an allegation concerning Russian intelligence or security personnel.

An FBI FD-302, electronic communication, intelligence referral, embassy cable, State Department record, congressional correspondence, visitor record or other contemporaneous government document could materially change the evidentiary picture.

Even then, two questions would remain separate:

1. Was the warning actually delivered before September 11?
2. Was the warning factually correct?

Those are not the same question.

The Central Question

Midtown Tribune’s investigation can be reduced to a narrowly framed historical question:

Did U.S. authorities receive a specific warning before September 11, 2001 alleging that Russian intelligence or security structures were connected to a bin Laden operation involving civilian aircraft and New York — and, if so, what evidence existed behind that warning?

That is the question the records search is intended to answer.

Bottom Line

The news today is that the FBI has responded to Midtown Tribune’s records request.

The bureau declined to confirm or deny whether it holds responsive pre-9/11 records concerning Konstantin Borovoy.

The larger investigation concerns Borovoy’s allegation that he warned U.S. officials in 1999 about bin Laden, civilian aircraft, New York and an alleged Russian-intelligence connection.

Open-source historical material shows that Soviet intelligence had covert relationships with figures involved in international terrorism and that militant organizations had used civilian passenger aircraft in coordinated operations decades before 9/11. Pacepa later alleged that aircraft hijacking had become a KGB terrorist instrument.

But those facts and allegations do not, separately or together, prove Russian responsibility for 9/11.

The missing evidence is contemporaneous documentation directly connecting the specific pre-9/11 warning described by Borovoy to U.S. government records — and, beyond that, evidence establishing whether the underlying allegation was true.

Midtown Tribune is continuing to look for that evidence.

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FAQ

Did the FBI confirm that it has records about Borovoy’s alleged 1999 warning?

No. The FBI declined to confirm or deny whether responsive records exist.

Did the FBI say that no such records exist?

No. The FBI specifically said its standard response should not be interpreted to mean that records either exist or do not exist.

Is Midtown Tribune claiming that Russia organized 9/11?

No. Midtown Tribune is investigating Borovoy’s allegation and related historical evidence. The established U.S. record attributes the attacks to al-Qaeda.

What exactly did Borovoy claim?

In a 2020 interview, Borovoy said he brought information to the United States in 1999 alleging that bin Laden and al-Qaeda were preparing to use civilian aircraft against New York skyscrapers. He also described the information as having a Russian-intelligence dimension. These remain his claims unless independently corroborated.

What did Pacepa claim?

Pacepa later alleged that Soviet intelligence had turned hijacked passenger aircraft into a terrorist instrument beginning in the late 1960s. Midtown Tribune treats this as a retrospective intelligence-source claim, not proof that the Soviet Union designed the September 11 attacks.

What do archival records independently show?

Archival KGB material reproduced by the Bukovsky Archives documents covert KGB contact with Wadi Haddad of the PFLP and later Soviet arms support. Official U.S. records document coordinated PFLP hijackings of New York-bound aircraft in 1970. These records establish historical context, not responsibility for 9/11.

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Primary Sources and Investigation Files

FBI — September 17, 2026 FOIPA response to Midtown Tribune
FOIPA Request No. 1757298-000, subject: “BOROVOY, KONSTANTIN (Before September 11, 2001).” Midtown Tribune possesses the response letter. The public article does not reproduce the requester’s private address or any temporary eFOIA download token.

U.S. Government Publishing Office — Borovoy testimony, October 7, 1999
U.S. Policy Toward Russia, Part II: Corruption in the Russian Government

FBI — Official 9/11 investigation
9/11 Investigation

National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States
9/11 Commission Report — Chapter 5

U.S. Department of State, Office of the Historian
September 6, 1970 telegram on multiple aircraft hijackings

U.S. National Archives
Historical review of the September 1970 hijackings

Konstantin Borovoy interview
Gordon — Borovoy interview containing his account of the alleged 1999 warning

Ion Mihai Pacepa — retrospective account
National Review — “What I Remember”

KGB memorandum reproduced by the Bukovsky Archives — April 23, 1974
KGB contact with Wadi Haddad

KGB memorandum reproduced by the Bukovsky Archives — May 16, 1975
Covert arms transfer to Wadi Haddad

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Editorial Standard

Midtown Tribune distinguishes primary documents, established historical facts, retrospective testimony and unverified allegations. Statements by Konstantin Borovoy and Ion Mihai Pacepa are attributed to them unless independently corroborated. Historical evidence of Soviet intelligence relationships with militant organizations does not, by itself, establish Soviet or Russian responsibility for the September 11 attacks. This investigation will be updated if additional authenticated primary-source records become available.

Ask Midtown Tribune about this story

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The FBI is working to determine whether a breach involving its jobs website originated within the bureau or through a third-party provider after a criminal hacking group claimed it obtained FBI employees’ personal information.

“The FBI is aware of a cyber-criminal enterprise group claiming a compromise of the FBIJobs.gov portal and alleged impact to FBI employee personally identifiable information (PII),” the organization wrote in an X post Thursday. 

“While the point of breach is still undetermined — whether a third-party or the FBI’s enterprise — we are actively and aggressively investigating this matter and working closely with those third-party providers that support FBIJobs.gov to mitigate any and all risk.”

Jason Pack, CEO of Media Rep Global Strategies and a retired FBI supervisory special agent, said the distinction between a personnel data breach and access to the FBI’s classified systems is critical as investigators determine the scope of the incident.

FBI INVESTIGATES AFTER SHINYHUNTERS HACKERS CLAIM THEFT OF AGENTS’ PERSONAL DATA

“There is a meaningful difference between somebody obtaining personnel information and somebody gaining access to classified investigative systems,” he told Fox News Digital. “Based on what we know right now, there is no indication they have the keys to the kingdom.”

ShinyHunters, a criminal hacking and extortion group, has taken responsibility for the breach and said it stole information belonging to nearly all FBI agents and people who applied to work for the bureau, Reuters previously reported.

A sample of data shared with Reuters contained agents’ names, home addresses, Social Security numbers, assignments and, in some cases, names of family members, according to the outlet.

DMV BREACH CONFIRMED AS HACKERS CLAIM 200,000 RECORDS STOLEN

Pack said combining personal information with information about an FBI employee’s work could create additional security risks.

“If an adversary knows who somebody is, where they work and what they do, they can build a much more believable scam around that person,” he said.

Pack said assignment information could also carry counterintelligence implications if it falls into the hands of a foreign intelligence service.

“There is also a counterintelligence concern. If a foreign intelligence service can associate particular people with certain assignments, it can help them identify individuals they may want to learn more about, approach or potentially assess for recruitment,” he added. 

“That does not mean that is happening here. It simply explains why assignment information can have value to an adversary.”

CHINA-LINKED HACKERS INFILTRATED US GOVERNMENT NETWORKS BEFORE FBI TAKEDOWN

Pack stressed that the hackers’ claims remain separate from what the FBI has confirmed, and said the bureau still needs to determine what information was accessed, how the breach occurred and who may have been affected.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

“The danger from stolen personal information does not necessarily end when the computer vulnerability is fixed,” he said. “Criminals may hold onto that information and use it weeks or months later.”

The FBI said it is working with third-party providers supporting FBIJobs.gov as investigators seek to determine the source of the breach and mitigate potential risks.

TEL AVIV — Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pleads his country’s case to the world at the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, his target audience will likely be closer to home: Israeli voters ahead of next month’s crucial elections.

Netanyahu arrived in New York on Thursday for what appears to be a whirlwind trip that will highlight the growing isolation of the U.S. ally over its assault on the Gaza Strip.

With only a handful of diplomatic meetings on the sidelines of the assembly and President Donald Trump’s focus firmly on his summit with China’s Xi Jinping, the prime minister looks set to return to Israel shortly after his address to be back in time for the major Jewish holiday of Sukkot on Friday evening.

“I am leaving tonight for New York in order to defend, from the U.N. podium, Israel and IDF soldiers,” the prime minister said in a video Wednesday night before he left. “You hear the terrible lies that are being spread there.”

Netanyahu at the United Nations General Assembly last year.Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu is likely to address an almost empty chamber as delegates observe an annual tradition of walking out in protest over the conduct of Israel’s war in the Gaza Strip. But that spectacle will likely play well among the premier’s domestic supporters, for whom he has styled himself as a defiant truth teller standing up for Israel on the global stage.

While much of the world has condemned Israel for the huge loss of civilian life and continuing humanitarian tragedy in Gaza, Netanyahu’s primary domestic challenge comes from an Israeli right wing that accuses him of not being tough enough in the country’s multifront war on Iran and its proxy groups.

“The main reason that brings him to the UN General Assembly this time is the opportunity to talk, using the UN microphone, to his voters in Israel, in his polished English, in a speech that of course will be accompanied by exaggerated descriptions of his great achievements,” Efraim Ganor, a political and strategic affairs expert, wrote in the right-leaning Israeli newspaper Ma’ariv.

The few hints that Netanyahu has given about the subject of his speech have focused on populist, patriotic causes.

In a video posted to social media on Tuesday, Netanyahu took aim at a popular target: New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who had pledged to arrest him for crimes against humanity before later acknowledging that he lacked the jurisdiction to do so.

Appearing to adopt the posture of a professional wrestler and looking straight into the camera, Netanyahu accused the mayor of supporting Hamas — which Mamdani has strenuously denied — and fomenting riots against New York Jews. He added that he would “tell the truth about you” and “tell the truth about our heroic soldiers.”

Asked about Netanyahu’s comments, Mamdani told a news conference Tuesday that the Israeli military had killed an 11-year-old boy in a zone deemed safe in Gaza, “so that is what I have to say to his video.”

Netanyahu’s mention of Israel soldiers appears to be a reference to “NAZA,” a documentary made by two Israeli filmmakers in which 24 anonymous Israelis, described as military and intelligence officials, talk about the cynical process by which the country’s military evaluated the need for civilian deaths during the Gaza war.

A popular target that has riled Israeli leaders ahead of the elections, “NAZA” has earned plaudits abroad but condemnation at home.

Politicians have stumbled over themselves to publicly condemn the documentary in the harshest terms, with some demanding a criminal investigation into the duo and even that they be stripped of Israeli citizenship.

In another hint on Wednesday night, Netanyahu, who has a history of peppering his General Assembly speeches with props, gags and gimmicks, said his speech would include “surprises.”

Last year, he told the audience that his speech was being broadcast into Gaza through massive loudspeakers and streamed to mobile phones so that Israeli hostages trapped in Gaza could hear him speak.

He also wore an oversized QR code on his jacket, encouraging audiences to activate the code to visit a website with a video showing Hamas’ attacks on Israel in October 2023 in which about 1,200 people were killed and which sparked the latest round of fighting. Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza has killed more than 75,000 people, according to Palestinian health officials.

In the years before that, Netanyahu brandished regional maps to make his points. Two years ago, he displayed two maps that showed the “blessing” of Israel’s influence contrasted with the “curse” of Iran’s expanding power.

And in 2012, more than a decade before the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran in what they said was an attempt to keep the Islamic Republic from getting a nuclear weapon, Netanyahu held up a cartoon image of an Iranian nuclear weapon with a “red line” for its maximum enrichment level.

The FBI is investigating an apparent breach of its jobs website as a criminal hacking group claimed to have accessed “very sensitive data” on nearly all agents and job applicants.

“The FBI is aware of claims regarding unauthorized activity affecting FBIjobs.gov and is currently investigating,” the bureau said in a statement. The website, the main portal for prospective employees to learn about the FBI and initiate the application process, remained offline Wednesday morning.

A message that circulated online from a hacking group known as ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for the hack.

The message, directed to FBI director Kash Patel as well as the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s cyber division, said the hacking group had “compromised very sensitive data on almost ALL FBI Agents and individuals who filed an application with the FBI for a job”.

The claims could not immediately be verified, and an FBI spokesperson declined to comment further. An email to an address associated with the organization was not immediately returned.

In its message, ShinyHunters said it would give the bureau one week to correct or remove what it says are false allegations in an FBI public service announcement from May that described the organization as a “cyber criminal group specializing in large-scale data breaches and extortion”.

That announcement characterized ShinyHunters as “threat actors” who often “use their real or exaggerated claims of access to sensitive or personal information to prompt payment from victims”, commonly harass or threaten victims and “may falsely claim to have sensitive or compromising information, including embarrassing photographs or videos of victims, which frequently do not exist”.

ShinyHunters said in its message to the FBI that it was “offended” by those characterizations and demanded that the FBI remove those claims.

The FBI has been a common hacking target.

In March, the agency disclosed that it was investigating “suspicious activities” on an internal system that contains sensitive information related to surveillance operations and investigations. Also that month, a pro-Iranian hacking group claimed to have hacked an account of Patel’s and posted online what appear to be years-old photographs of him, along with a work résumé and other personal documents dating back more than a decade.

The compromise, if confirmed, would be the latest in a string of cybersecurity failures at the F.B.I., which said it was investigating the matter.

Here is a review of the key developments in the Russia-Ukraine war for today, September 23, 2026:

Aerial Warfare and Battlefield Developments

• Daylight Strikes on Kyiv: Russia launched daytime drone attacks on the Ukrainian capital hours before President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s scheduled address to the UN General Assembly. The strikes hit a business center and other facilities, killing at least two people and wounding 23.

• Black Sea Cargo Ship Attacked: Russian forces attacked a cargo vessel sailing under the flag of Antigua and Barbuda in the Black Sea. The attack killed the ship’s captain, a Ukrainian citizen, and sparked a fire, forcing the crew to evacuate.

• Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Energy: Ukraine continued its campaign against Russian energy infrastructure. Ukrainian special forces reported successful overnight strikes on oil refineries in Russia’s Samara (Kuibyshev) and Bashkortostan regions. Additionally, Ukraine’s Unmanned Systems Forces claimed to have hit 38 electrical substations in Russia and occupied territories under “Operation Crimean Switch Off”.

• Frontline Clashes: The Ukrainian General Staff reported 247 combat engagements over the past 24 hours, noting that the fiercest fighting remains concentrated in the Pokrovsk and Kostiantynivka sectors.

Diplomatic Front at the UN General Assembly

• Zelenskyy Meets Trump: President Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump in New York ahead of the UN General Assembly. Zelenskyy is seeking stronger commitments to secure Black Sea grain shipments and is requesting more US-made Patriot air defense systems to shield against ongoing bombardment. Reports indicate Trump provided no concrete answer regarding the provision of additional Patriot systems, which are currently in short supply due to competing global conflicts.

• Japanese Support: Zelenskyy also held talks with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, securing reaffirmations of Japan’s continued support for Ukraine amid the ongoing conflict.

Broader Geopolitics and Sanctions

• New US Sanctions on Russian Energy: President Trump signed the “Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026” into law. The legislation grants the US administration the authority to impose tariffs of up to 100% on countries that are top purchasers of Russian oil and gas, potentially putting major buyers like India and China in the crosshairs.

• Russia-Iran Strategic Planning: A leaked non-public Russian government document revealed efforts by Moscow to build a broad, sanctions-proof economic partnership with Iran. The roadmap outlines plans to bypass Western financial networks by expanding trade in national currencies, developing central bank digital currencies, and creating independent financial messaging systems.

UN General Assembly & Global Geopolitics

• Trump and Zelenskyy at the UN: President Donald Trump is attending the UN General Assembly in New York, where he is expected to press Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on an energy ceasefire. This comes as global diesel prices surge amidst the ongoing US conflict with Iran and Russia’s war in Ukraine.

• Overnight Strikes in Ukraine: As world leaders gathered for the summit, Russian overnight missile and drone barrages across several Ukrainian regions killed at least three people.

• US Base Expansion in Greenland: Trump announced plans to construct two “very major” US military bases in Greenland.

• Iran Diplomacy: Trump indicated during the assembly that a diplomatic deal with Iran is likely following the US midterm elections.

• Yemen Conflict: Houthi forces are moving to seize strategic mountainous terrain in Yemen following reports that the US called off planned airstrikes against the group at the last minute.

• Drone Tech Proliferation: A US intelligence assessment warns that Latin American drug cartels are making alarming technological advances in drone warfare, a shift fueled by fighters returning from the Russia-Ukraine war.

US Politics & Domestic News

• Media Blackout Protest: Major television networks have suspended their video coverage of President Trump in response to the White House banning reporters from CNN, MS NOW, and Politico. The banned outlets have subsequently filed a lawsuit.

• ICE Detainee Tracking Halted: US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has unannouncedly stopped publicly sharing the locations of thousands of detainees with final deportation orders, significantly hindering lawyers and family members from locating them.

• 2028 GOP Maneuvering: Early political moves are already underway within the Republican party as potential contenders prepare to challenge Vice President JD Vance for the 2028 presidential nomination.

• Senate Challenges: Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has refused to rule out a potential primary run against Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Additional Headlines

• Hurricane Polo: The storm has intensified into a Category 5 hurricane off the coast of Mexico, threatening the region with life-threatening flooding.

• Japan’s Aging Population: Japan has reached a new demographic milestone, recording over 100,000 citizens aged 100 or older as the country faces mounting pressure on its social care systems and worsening labor shortages.

• Travel Disruptions: Flights were halted at several major airports across the US Northeast due to widespread tech problems.

Editor’s note: This is a developing story and is being updated.

Russian drones killed two people and injured at least 25 more in the capital in the early hours of Sept. 23, local authorities reported, as Russian drones fell in two districts near the Central Station.

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said two people were killed as a result of Russian strikes, and 25 other residents were injured as of 13:37 p.m. local time. Seventeen of the injured were being treated in city hospitals, he added.

Russian drones came down in the Holosiivskyi, Darnitskyi, and Solomianskyi districts of Kyiv, the latter of which also hosts the Kyiv Central Station.

A fire broke out in the historic railway market “Shayba” near the Central Station, Kyiv Independent reporters confirmed. The round structure was built in the 70’s as an experimental indoor market.

Oleksandr Pertsovskyi, chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, said that Russia struck railway infrastructure in Kyiv and injured one of their workers.

At 11:02 am local time, Ukrzaliznytsia said that the Kyiv Central Station was not damaged by the Russian strikes.

Damage at the historic railway market “Shayba” near Kyiv’s Central Station after Russia’s attack on Kyiv on Sept. 23, 2026 (Anastasiia Kasinchuk/The Kyiv Independent)

In the Solomianskyi district, a Russian drone struck a 9-story residential building, Klitschko said.

Klitschko also said that drone debris fell in the Solomianskyi district of the capital in an area between residential buildings, and a fire broke out in the area of a transportation company.

A Russian drone also crashed into a four-story business center in the Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv, according to the mayor. A gas station and warehouses in the Holosiivskyi district were also targeted.

In Darnytskyi district, a fire broke out in a warehouse, according to the Kyiv City Military Administration (KMDA).

Internet providers in Kyiv reported network outages after the Russian attacks damaged data centers of the companies Pavutina and UTELS.

Damage at the historic railway market “Shayba” near Kyiv’s Central Station after Russia’s attack on Kyiv on Sept. 23, 2026 (Anastasiia Kasinchuk/The Kyiv Independent)

In Kyiv Oblast, Russian attacks over the past day damaged 18 facilities, injuring three people, including a 76-year-old man, Tymur Tkachenko, head of the Kyiv Regional State Administration, said.

The attacks came on the same day that Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Kyiv of the potential for a new large-scale strike by Russia, referencing intelligence reports.

Kyiv authorities don’t have the resources to build shelters at every gas station, while the city also faces a shortage of weapons needed to intercept Russian drones and missiles, Klitschko said on Sept. 11.

Russia has recently employed a new tactic of using drones for hours-long attacks on Kyiv, putting residents on edge and into shelters throughout the day and night.