US Soldier Traveled to Russia’s Far East Without Authorization, Detained for Theft

A US Army servicemember, after traveling without authorization through China to Russia’s Far Eastern port city of Vladivostok to meet his Russian girlfriend, has been detained by Russian authorities in early May on theft charges filed by the woman.

The press service of Russia’s Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok said the US servicemember is under pre-trial detention until at least July 2.

Reuters, citing reports from the Russian court, identified the active-duty serviceman as 34-year-old Staff Sgt. Gordon Black. News outlet military.com said Black started a romantic relationship with a Russian woman, Aleksandra Vashchuk, when he was stationed at Camp Humphreys in South Korea.

Unnamed US officials also told AP News that Black is married and likely visited Vashchuk after some type of domestic dispute or altercation last year. However, military.com said court documents showed that Black filed for divorce in Texas in April 2022, though it’s not clear if it was finalized.

Russia’s interior ministry said that following arguments between the two, Vashchuk accused Black of stealing from her and filed a police report. Black was subsequently arrested in his hotel room with his return tickets already purchased.

Black’s mother, Melody Jones, told ABC News that she was aware of Black’s journey to Russia but was concerned that he was “being set up” by Vashchuk and pled with Russian authorities to “not torture him [or] hurt him” in another interview with CBS news.

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Russia’s foreign ministry told state media TASS that Black’s arrest has “no relation to politics or espionage.”

US Army spokesperson Cynthia Smith told the New York Post that Black “flew from Incheon, [South] Korea through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons” before his reassignment to Texas without official approval.

“Black did not request official clearance and [the Defense Department] did not authorize his travel to China and Russia. Official and leave travel is currently restricted pursuant to the DoD Foreign Clearance Guide,” said Smith.

It’s not clear how Black obtained the visa required to enter China and Russia.

According to Smith, Black enlisted as an infantryman in 2008 and was deployed to Iraq between October 2009 and September 2010 and to Afghanistan between June 2013 and March 2014.

Vashchuk has shared numerous videos of her with Black on TikTok, as reported by the New York Post, where Black has expressed pro-Russian views and criticized the US and NATO.

“I think NATO is pretty aggressive, honestly. I understand Russia’s position. Obviously, they want to defend their country,” said Black in one of the videos, before criticizing US President Joe Biden for “[not] handling the situation the way he should.”