American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing from a girlfriend, U.S. officials say

WASHINGTON – An American soldier who was visiting a friend in the Russian port city of Vladivostok was arrested on charges of theft and remains in custody, according to several U.S. officials.

U.S. officials said Monday that the soldier, Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas. Instead, officials said Black, who is married, traveled to Russia to meet his longtime girlfriend. His arrest only further complicates U.S. relations with Russia, which have become increasingly tense as the war in Ukraine drags on.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith confirmed that a soldier was arrested on criminal misconduct charges Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial port in the Pacific. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier’s family.

“The U.S. State Department is providing appropriate consular assistance to the soldier in Russia,” Smith said.

According to officials, the Russian woman had been living in South Korea and last fall she and Black got into some sort of domestic dispute or altercation. She then left South Korea. It is not clear whether she was forced to leave and what role Korean authorities played in the matter.

Officials also said that Black, an infantry soldier, did not tell his unit that he was going to Russia nor was he given permission to go there. They said he was effectively on leave since he left Korea to return home to Fort Cavazos.

However, it is unclear whether U.S. soldiers are specifically banned from traveling to Russia, although the State Department strongly discourages U.S. citizens from traveling there.

The arrest comes less than a year after American soldier Travis King sprinted across the heavily fortified inter-Korean border into North Korea. North Korea later announced it would deport King, who was sent back to the United States. Eventually he was accused of desertion.

Russia is known to hold a number of Americans in its prisons, including the company’s security official Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has deemed both of them unlawfully detained and is attempting to negotiate their release.

Others detained include Travis Leake, a musician who has lived in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow who was also sentenced to 14 years in prison on drug charges; and dual citizens Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.

The soldier’s arrest in Russia was first reported by NBC News.

___ Associated Press reporters Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani and Eric Tucker contributed to this report.