Arrested US soldier awaits hearing in Russia on theft charges

WASHINGTON (AP) — The US Army soldier arrested in Russia last week is being held in a detention center awaiting a hearing, the army said Tuesday.

U.S. officials said Gordon Black flew to Russia to visit his girlfriend, and the Army confirmed Tuesday that he had not sought authorization for the international trip and that it had not been approved by the Defense Department.

Pentagon policy requires service members to get approval from a security manager or commander for any international travel, and that hasn’t been done. The State Department strongly discourages U.S. citizens from traveling to Russia, and given the war in Ukraine and ongoing threats to the U.S. and its military, it is extremely unlikely that approval would have been granted.

Black was on vacation and was returning to his home base of Fort Cavazos, Texas, from South Korea, where he had been stationed with the Eighth Army at Camp Humphreys. U.S. officials said Black, who is married, met his girlfriend in South Korea. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.

“Duty and vacation travel is currently restricted in accordance with the DoD Foreign Clearance Guide,” said Cynthia Smith, an Army spokeswoman, adding, “There is no evidence that Black intended to remain in Russia after his leave period expires.”

Smith said Black joined the Army in 2008 and was deployed to Iraq from October 2009 to September 2010 and Afghanistan from June 2013 to March 2014. He is an infantry soldier.

According to Smith, Black opted out of moving home and “instead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Incheon, Republic of Korea, via China to Vladivostok, Russia for personal reasons.”

According to U.S. 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.

Smith said a Russian Interior Ministry official informed the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on Friday that Black had been arrested in Vladivostok on Thursday “for theft of personal property.” The embassy and the Eighth Army notified Black’s family of his arrest.

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.

Other detainees 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 nationals Alsou Kurmasheva And Ksenia Khavana.

The arrest comes less than a year after the arrest of American soldier Travis King sprinted to North Korea across the heavily fortified border between Korea. North Korea announced later that it would drive away kingwho was sent back to the USA was eventually charged with desertion.