The soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, had been stationed in South Korea and traveled to Russia on his own, not on official business, according to four U.S. officials.
He had finished his deployment and was heading back to the U.S. when he made a side trip to Vladivostok, Russia, to visit a woman he was romantically involved with, officials said. They added that he had traveled there without permission from his superiors and that he is being held in pretrial confinement.
The soldier is accused of stealing from a woman, the officials said. It was not immediately clear whether it was the same woman he was visiting.
The soldier was detained Thursday, U.S. Army spokesperson Cynthia O. Smith said in a statement.
Smith said the soldier was apprehended in Vladivostok “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 said. “The Army notified his family and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia. Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he is “deeply concerned” by reports that a soldier was detained in Russia.
“Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage,” McCaul said in a post shared on X. “A warning to all Americans—as the State Department has said, it is not safe to travel to Russia.”
