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According to the Army and National Security Council, an American soldier was arrested in Russia last week.
Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas.
U.S. officials said Black traveled to Russia on his own to meet a woman he was romantically involved with.
Black faces accusations of stealing from a woman.
However, it’s unclear if he allegedly stole from the woman he traveled to Russia to visit.
“Russian authorities in Vladivostok, Russia, detained an American Soldier on charges of criminal misconduct,” U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith told The Hill.
WATCH:
An American soldier has been arrested in Russia — accused of stealing from a woman. Officials say Staff Sgt. Gordon D. Black was based in South Korea and was supposed to return to the U.S. as part of a regular rotation, but instead traveled to Vladivostok. pic.twitter.com/kTE4dwRsQS
— CBS Evening News (@CBSEveningNews) May 6, 2024
The Hill reports:
Smith said the Russian Federation notified the State Department of the criminal detention, and the Army thereafter notified the soldier’s family.
The State Department “is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia,” she added.
And a NSC spokesperson told The Hill that the State Department “is actively seeking consular access to this individual, who was not in Russia on behalf of or in affiliation with the U.S. government.”
They referred further questions about the individual’s employment to the Pentagon, which referred The Hill to the Army.
“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,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) said.
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
From the Associated Press:
Cynthia Smith, Army spokeswoman, confirmed that a soldier was detained on Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier’s family.
“The U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Smith said.
According to officials, the Russian woman had lived in South Korea, and last fall she and Black got into some type of domestic dispute or altercation. After that, she left South Korea. It isn’t clear if she was forced to leave or what, if any, role Korean authorities had in the matter.
Officials also said that Black, an infantry soldier, did not tell his unit that he was going to Russia, and did not receive any authorization to go there. They said he was essentially on leave, as he left Korea to redeploy back home to Fort Cavazos.
It’s unclear, however, if U.S. service members are specifically prohibited from traveling to Russia, although the State Department strongly advises U.S. citizens not to go.
The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted into North Korea across the heavily fortified border between the Koreas. North Korea later announced that it would expel King, who was returned to the U.S. He was eventually charged with desertion.
