An American soldier who traveled to Russia last week was arrested on what the U.S. Army is calling charges of “criminal misconduct.”
NBC News first reported the arrest late Monday afternoon citing an Army representative who said the soldier traveled to Vladivostok, Russia, last week from South Korea where he was stationed.
The soldier made the trip on his personal time.
U.S. government officials told NBC the soldier was accused of stealing from a woman and had been detained since last Thursday.
CNN, citing its own U.S. government sources, identified the serviceman as a Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, but the Army refused to confirm the soldier’s identity.
The U.S. government has been in contact with Russian officials regarding the soldier’s detention and his family has been notified.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said police in Vladivostok took Black in “on charges of criminal misconduct.”
“The Russian Federation notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” Smith told CNN.
“The Army notified his family, and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Smith added. “Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”
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Black is just the latest American to face detention in Russia amid strained relations between Moscow and Washington.
Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas commented that it is not currently safe for Americans to travel to Russia.
“I am deeply concerned by reports that a U.S. Army officer has been detained in Russia,” McCaul said in a statement shared on X by the House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority account.
McCaul concluded, “Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage. A warning to all Americans — as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.”
CHM @RepMcCaul: “I am deeply concerned by reports that a U.S. Army officer has been detained in Russia. Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage. A warning to all Americans—as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.” https://t.co/R4lIdjmDOH
— House Foreign Affairs Committee Majority (@HouseForeignGOP) May 6, 2024
Former Marine Paul Whelan has been in a Russian jail since 2018 and is serving a 16-year sentence for alleged spying.
The U.S. government’s position on the conviction is that Whelan is innocent and his imprisonment is unjust.
The Biden administration seemingly had an opportunity to work out a deal to release Whelan in December 2022 when the Russian government agreed to a prisoner swap to send WNBA player Brittney Griner home.
Griner was released while notorious Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout was sent to Moscow.
President Joe Biden issued a statement on Whelan’s continued imprisonment, which outraged many Americans.
“This was not a choice of which American to bring home,” he said at the time.
“Sadly, for totally illegitimate reasons, Russia is treating Paul’s case differently than Brittney’s,” Biden added. “And while we have not yet succeeded in securing Paul’s release, we are not giving up. We will never give up.”
The arrest of Black comes months after Ksenia Karelina, a dual U.S.-Russian citizen, was arrested by Putin’s regime on treason charges.
Karleina’s boyfriend Chris Van Heerden told CNN in February that he bought her a ticket to Russia because she was feeling homesick, and she was shocked to find herself in jail when she arrived in the country.
The woman had been living in Los Angeles at the time of the arrest.
The U.S. State Department currently warns Americans who are planning to travel to Russia to reconsider.
An advisory from the department reads Americans should “not travel to Russia,” citing “the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials,” as well as the “arbitrary enforcement of local law.”
