A US soldier has been arrested in Russia on suspicion of robbery, two US officials told CNN. According to one of these two sources, the detained soldier is called Gordon Black.
An Army spokeswoman, Cynthia Smith, confirmed the arrest, although she did not release the soldier’s name.
“The Russian Federation has notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,” said Smith, who said the soldier had been arrested in Vladivostok, in Russia’s far east, “under the charge of criminal misconduct.”
“The Army has 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,” he added.
According to CNN, the arrest took place last Thursday (2). Black was in a US Army unit in South Korea and would have taken leave to travel to Russia of his own free will.
American citizens have been especially targeted in Russia since the start of Moscow’s war against Ukraine in February 2022 – last year, a Wall Street Journal reporter, Evan Gershkovich, was arrested on espionage charges. Therefore, Washington has advised American citizens not to travel to Russia.
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