A view of the bridge connecting the Russky Island and Vladivostok in Russia’s far east on Aug. 26, 2023. An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing. (Alexander Khitrov/AP)
A US soldier has been arrested by Russian authorities on charges of criminal misconduct, the Army confirmed Monday.
The soldier was detained Thursday in Vladivostok, a Pacific port city, and remains in custody. Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and in the process of transitioning to Fort Cavazos, Texas, according to two defense officials.
Instead, officials told The Associated Press that Black, who is married, traveled to Russia to see a longtime girlfriend. The officials spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.
According to those 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.
The officials said Black was held on charges of stealing from the woman, according to the AP.
Black, an infantry soldier, did not tell his unit that he was going to Russia and did not receive any authorization to go there, according to the officials quoted by the AP.
“The Russian Federation notified the US Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” according to an Army statement. “The Army notified [the soldier’s] family, and the US Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia.”
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a post shared on X that he is “deeply concerned” by reports a soldier was 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,” McCaul said.
Army officials declined to provide further information.
The soldier is not the only American detained in Russia. The US government has told The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed in March 2023, and Marine veteran Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018, are both wrongfully detained in the country.
The arrest comes less than a year after Army Pvt. Travis King was taken into custody by North Korea. He was stationed in South Korea and ran into the country during a group tour of the heavily guarded Joint Security Area, where King was promptly detained. He was returned to the US in September and charged with desertion in October.
