A U.S. Army soldier was detained by Russian authorities in the port city of Vladivostok on suspicion of criminal activity, the State Department and the Pentagon said Monday, potentially further complicating the controversial relationship between Russia and the United States. He added that it is expensive.
Military officials identified the soldier as Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, said he was on his way home to Fort Cavazos in Texas after being stationed in South Korea. He was arrested on May 2, and Russia notified the State Department of the soldier’s “criminal detention” in accordance with international agreements between the two countries.
“The Army has notified the family and the U.S. State Department is providing appropriate consular assistance to the soldier in Russia,” Army spokeswoman Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement.
State Department officials reiterated the U.S. government’s warning to Americans not to travel to Russia. Sergeant Black’s arrest was first reported by NBC News.
The detentions follow a pattern in recent years of Americans being arrested in Russia and detained, in some cases indefinitely, on often trumped-up charges, according to U.S. officials. The detention comes at a time when relations between Russia and the United States have already deteriorated severely. Russia and the United States have clashed, most notably over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but also on many other issues. .
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been imprisoned by Russian authorities for more than a year on espionage charges that he and his employer deny. The White House deemed him “unlawfully detained,” and President Biden repeatedly called for his release last month.
Paul Whelan, a corporate security executive and former U.S. Marine, is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony on what the U.S. government calls trumped-up charges of espionage. Professional basketball player Brittney Griner was detained in Russia for about 10 months in exchange for Viktor Bout, a Russian man convicted of conspiracy to murder an American and providing material support to a terrorist group, in December 2022. He was released in May.
And in February, Russia’s main security agency announced that a dual Russian-American citizen had been arrested in the city of Yekaterinburg on charges of treason for raising funds for Ukraine. The woman, who lived in Los Angeles, is accused of sending more than $50 to a New York-based nonprofit that sends aid to Ukraine. She could face up to 20 years in prison.
It took weeks of diplomacy for the United States to secure the return of another Army soldier recently arrested in an unfriendly country. Soldier, Private. Travis T. King was released in October after being detained by North Korean authorities. He entered the country without permission from South Korea at the border village of Panmunjom in July.
