US soldier detained in Russia traveled through China without clearance, says US Army

WASHINGTON: A US soldier who has been detained in Russia traveled to the Russian city of Vladivostok through China without clearance from the military, the US Army said on Tuesday.

Criminal cases against Americans in Russia have assumed diplomatic significance in recent years, including a drugs case against basketball star Brittney Griner who was freed last year in a prisoner swap and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained on espionage charges, which he and his employer deny.

The soldier, who the Army identified as Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, was arrested on charges of theft by a court in Vladivostok in Russia’s Far East, the regional office of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Black, who enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2008, had been assigned to Camp Humphreys in South Korea most recently and was set to return to Fort Cavazos in Texas, the US Army statement said.