A US soldier arrested in Russia last week will remain in prison at least until July until authorities investigate theft charges against him, Russian media reported Tuesday, citing local court officials.
The soldier was arrested on Thursday in the eastern Russian port city of Vladivostok, a local court spokeswoman told reporters. Russian economic newspaper Kommersant. His detention appeared on Mondaywhen the U.S. State and Defense Departments said he was being detained.
A U.S. military official identified him as Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, an Army sergeant about to return home to Texas after being stationed in South Korea.
A Vladivostok court said in a news release Tuesday that a U.S. citizen identified only by the letter B was arrested on suspicion of robbing a woman, causing her “considerable harm.”
Moscow officials have not commented on the arrest and the press service of the Vladivostok courts did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday.
Sergeant Black’s detention was revealed when Vladimir V. Putin prepared to be sworn in for his fifth term as Russian president Tuesday, amid a bellicose standoff with the West.
Sergeant Black is the latest American to be arrested in Russia in recent years on what U.S. officials say are often trumped-up charges. The highest-profile detentions have eaten into already strained relations between Russia and the United States, which have clashed notably over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and also over a host of other issues, including what Washington sees as pressure from Moscow to put a nuclear weapon in space.
Another American citizen was also arrested separately in Moscow. A Moscow court said Tuesday that a man identified as William Russell Nikum was fined and sentenced to 10 days in prison for drunkenness and disturbing the peace.
He has not been charged with more serious crimes, but in the past Russian officials have often extended minor prison sentences to keep government critics in detention. U.S. officials have made no comment on Mr. Russell’s arrest.
In Sergeant Black’s case, it was unclear why he was in Vladivostok, a militarized port close to the headquarters of the Russian Pacific Fleet and closed to foreigners for decades under the Soviet Union. It is also unclear how he obtained a visa to travel to Russia.
A State Department official on Monday reiterated the U.S. government’s warning to Americans not to travel to Russia.
NBC News reported Monday that Sergeant Black had traveled to Vladivostok from South Korea to visit a woman with whom he was romantically involved. He had not informed his superiors about the trip, the outlet reported.
Ekaterina Bodyagina And Oleg Matsnev reports contributed.
