An American soldier was arrested and is being held in Russia on charges of stealing, US officials confirmed Monday.
Multiple reports identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Gordon D. Black, who was arrested May 2 in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok, near Russia’s borders with North Korea and China.
Black, 34, traveled to Russia on his own account, not official business, and had been stationed in South Korea, according to NBC News, which first reported on his detention.
Black was in the process of changing duty stations back to Fort Cavazos in Texas, formerly known as Fort Hood, according to the outlet.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby confirmed the Biden administration had been made aware of the report, but declined to comment further.
“I can’t really say much about this right now,” Kirby told reporters during the regular White House briefing, referring additional questions to the Department of Defense.
Army spokeswoman Cynthia Smith confirmed that Russia had notified the US of Black’s arrest and the service had informed the officer’s family.
“The US Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Smith said.
American service members are required to notify their chain of command before leaving their duty station. To legally enter Russia, a US adversary, Black would have had to ask the Pentagon’s permission.
The State Department has warned US citizens in Russia to “depart immediately” and has a level four “do not travel” risk advisory in place amid the Kremlin’s two-year-old war on Ukraine and increased aggression towards Americans in the country.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich was detained by Russian authorities in March of 2023 on espionage charges, and is currently being held.
Former Marine Paul Whelan was arrested Dec. 28, 2018, and charged with espionage while in Moscow for the wedding of a friend. He was sentenced in June 2020 to 16 years in prison.
Women’s basketball star Britney Griner was released from a Russian prison in December 2022 in exchange for the US setting free arms trader Viktor Bout, the so-called “Merchant of Death,” from federal prison.
Griner had been arrested the previous February on drug-related charges at a Moscow airport.
Ksenia Karelina, a dual US-Russian citizen and ballerina, was also arrested this past January while visiting her grandmother on charges including treason for allegedly donating $51 to Razom, a charity that supports Ukraine’s army.
With Caitlin Doornbos and Post wires.