US soldier detained in Russia ‘for stealing from a woman’ identified
A US soldier has been detained in Russia after being accused of stealing from a woman.
The American soldier was stationed in South Korea and traveled independently, not on an official mission, to Russia, four US officials told NBC News on Monday.
He has been identified as Staff Sgt Gordon Black.
Black was taken into custody in Vladivostok ‘on charges of criminal misconduct’ on Thursday, stated a US Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith.
‘The Russian Federation notified the US Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,’ said Smith.
‘The Army notified his family and the US Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia.’
Black had completed his deployment and was on his way back to the US, but first visited Vladivostok, according to the officials. He is accused of stealing from a woman and it was not immediately known if it was the same person he went to see.
He traveled to Russia without permission from US Army bosses.
Black is being held in pre-trial confinement.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul said he was ‘deeply concerned’ about reports of the soldier’s detainment.
‘Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage,’ said McCaul on Monday. ‘A warning to all Americans – as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.’
Black is the latest American to be detained by the Kremlin.
WNBA star Brittney Griner was sentenced to a penal colony for nine years after a Russian court found her guilty of drug smuggling and possession charges. She spent 10 months in captivity before being released in 2022 in a prisoner exchange for Russian arms dealer Viktor Bout.
Americans still detained by Russia include Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich since last March and former US Marine Paul Whelan since 2018.
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