U.S. Soldier Detained In Russia Had Broken Army Rules, Traveled Via China

The Pentagon has said that the U.S. Army serviceman who is one of two Americans arrested by Russia in separate cases disclosed on May 7 had violated army rules by traveling to the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok, and he had gone there via China.

The detentions renewed questions over whether Russian authorities are targeting Americans for potential prisoner swaps amid sharp disagreements between Moscow and Washington over the war in Ukraine and other international security issues.

A Pervomaisky district court in Vladivostok ordered the arrest of U.S. Army Staff Sergeant Gordon Black and sent him to pretrial detention until at least July 2, according to a court spokeswoman.

Daniel Kanigan, deputy spokesman at the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, told RFE/RL in an e-mail that “we can confirm that two U.S. citizens have been detained in Russia in the past week.” He did not confirm the name of either of the detained Americans.

But U.S. authorities confirmed that Black had been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing from a woman after traveling from South Korea -- where he had been assigned but was due to return to Texas -- without informing his superiors.

"Instead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Incheon, Republic of Korea through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons," the army said in a statement.

Russian authorities said separately on May 7 that an American identified by court officials as William Russell Nycum had been detained 10 days ago in an unrelated case and was in custody in Moscow on "petty hooliganism" and alcohol charges.

The White House said the State Department was "actively seeking consular access to both individuals, neither of whom are in Russia on behalf or in affiliation with the U.S. government," press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters.

The detentions add to a list of U.S. citizens being held in Russia under various circumstances and come as tensions between Moscow and Washington are at their highest levels since the Cold War.

Among those being held are journalists Alsu Kurmasheva of RFE/RL and Evan Gershkovich of The Wall Street Journal. Both have been detained on charges that they, their employers, and their supporters reject as politically motivated.

American Paul Whelan was convicted in 2020 and sentenced to 16 years in Russian prison on espionage charges that he and the U.S. government have repeatedly rejected.

Russia's Foreign Ministry has said Black's and Nycum's cases are not political and neither is accused of espionage.

Black was charged with "theft causing significant damage to a citizen," Kommersant reported, the maximum penalty for which is five years in prison.

Black’s mother told the ABC TV network that her 35-year-old son had been visiting his girlfriend in Russia at the time of his arrest.

U.S. Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith confirmed that Black was detained four days earlier in Vladivostok, a military and commercial port in Russia's Far East, on charges of criminal misconduct.

Smith added that there was no indication “Black intended to remain in Russia” after his two-week leave time ended.

It wasn’t immediately clear if the detained soldier was being considered as absent without leave (AWOL) by the U.S. military.

U.S. Representative Michael McCaul (Republican-Texas), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that “I am deeply concerned by reports that a U.S. Army officer has been detained in Russia. Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage."

The State Department issued a "Do Not Travel" warning to U.S. citizens in September 2023 and cited "the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials."

With reporting by Reuters