U.S. Army Soldier Is Detained in Russia

A U.S. Army soldier has been detained by Russian authorities in the port city Vladivostok on charges of criminal misconduct, the State and Defense Departments said on Monday, adding what is likely to be another complication in the contentious relationship between Moscow and Washington.

A military official identified the soldier as Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, and said he was in the process of returning home to Fort Cavazos in Texas after being stationed in South Korea. He was apprehended on May 2, and Russia notified the State Department of the soldier’s “criminal detention” in accordance with international agreements between the two nations.

“The Army notified his family, and the U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the soldier in Russia,” Cynthia O. Smith, an Army spokeswoman, said in a statement.

A State Department official reiterated the U.S. government’s warning for Americans not to travel to Russia. The arrest of Sergeant Black was reported earlier by NBC News.

The detention follows a pattern in recent years of Americans being arrested in Russia and held, sometimes indefinitely, on what U.S. officials say are often trumped-up charges. The detentions have gnawed at the already badly frayed relationship between Russia and the United States, which have clashed most notably over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine but also over a host of other matters, including what Washington says is Moscow’s push to put a nuclear weapon in space.

Evan Gershkovich, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been jailed by Russian authorities for more than a year on charges of espionage that he and his employer reject. The White House has designated him “wrongfully detained,” and President Biden reiterated