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WASHINGTON (AP) — An American soldier has been arrested in Russia and accused of stealing, according to two U.S. officials.
The soldier, who is not being identified, was stationed in South Korea and was in the process of returning home to the United States. Instead, officials said he traveled to Russia.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel details.
Cynthia Smith, Army spokeswoman, confirmed that a soldier was detained on Thursday in Vladivostok, a major military and commercial Pacific port, on charges of criminal misconduct. She said Russia notified the U.S. and the Army told the soldier’s family.
Quote:
It was unclear Monday if the soldier is considered absent without leave, or AWOL.
This might be more crazy than the troop who ran off to North Korea. How are you stationed in South Korea, in the process of returning home, but instead travel to Russia? And decide to steal in Russia?
This might be more crazy than the troop who ran off to North Korea. How are you stationed in South Korea, in the process of returning home, but instead travel to Russia? And decide to steal in Russia?
The charges of stealing could just be trumped up, as Russia would take any opportunity to detain a US Soldier, as they would be useful in terms of leverage in relation to the US and any possible exchange deal.
The Soldier is an idiot for visiting Russia in the current political climate, however he may not be a thief.
The charges of stealing could just be trumped up, as Russia would take any opportunity to detain a US Soldier, as they would be useful in terms of leverage in relation to the US and any possible exchange deal.
The Soldier is an idiot for visiting Russia in the current political climate, however he may not be a thief.
Yup, it will be interesting to see what more details will reveal about this case. Very odd at the moment.
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In a world full of bizarre, this is crazy. What would possess an active duty Soldier to go to Russia. He never would have been given proper authorization to go there in the first place. I'll assume there will be a court martial when he finally gets home. If ever.
Another Russian hostage held as a future bargaining chip. And how he wound up in Russia. This will go on for months or years. Off to some above the Arctic Circle prison. Feel sorry for the family. I checked another news source which stated he was visiting a Russian girl friend.
Another Russian hostage held as a future bargaining chip. And how he wound up in Russia. This will go on for months or years. Off to some above the Arctic Circle prison. Feel sorry for the family. I checked another news source which stated he was visiting a Russian girl friend.
I posted in other threads, but here is what I believe happened based on my experience in South Korea:
1) When your tour is up in Korea, you then go through the process of booking your flight back to your new base in CONUS. Most people go on the rotator, but some fly commercial back to CONUS out of Incheon. If you go out of Incheon, your unit will not know exactly what day you are actually flying out. They normally just rely on you informing them. Even if a unit has a policy of reviewing all your flights, you could fake a reservation, and it would be doubtful anyone in your unit would verify it with TMO, or whatever the Army equivalent of that office is.
2) He might’ve had a valid ticket out, and he might’ve had local leave booked in Seoul. Some guys like to hang out for a week of partying before they head back to CONUS.
2) Bottom line, he was not authorized to go to Russia. I knew that as soon as I heard the story. There is no command anywhere in the US who is going to authorize leave in Russia. The only exception to that policy would be if you have verified family in Russia. You might be able to get a waiver to go visit, but it seems to me that ever since this Ukraine thing popped off, I’d expect most every waiver request to be denied.
3) it is bizarre that he was allowed to land in China, and then on to Russia. Assuming China was just a stop and wait at the airport, he wouldn’t need a Chinese visa. But he would’ve needed to have a pre approved Russian visa prior to boarding his flight.
4) I think he went to the Russian Embassy in Seoul, without his unit aware, and applied for a Russian visa. I suspect that the Russians deduced pretty quickly he was active duty and they allowed his visa request with the intent that they would grab him in Russia and use him for propaganda.
5) I don’t think he stole anything. Yes, it’s possible he did, but just not very plausible. If you are sneaking into a country, you don’t want to turn the trip into an international incident.
6) He’s also married, so I guess this was an illicit affair.
7) It’s also been reported that he is very pro-Russian, so I guess it’s possible he cut a deal with the Russians to do something in Russia and that’s why they gave him the visa. If this scenario is true, then I guess the Russians reneged on the deal and arrested him.
Bottom line: I have no sympathy for him at all. He made his own bed, now he has to sleep in it.
He supposedly stole FROM the GF and then called the soldier's mom and then the police to have him arrested.
I'm guessing she tried to shake the family down.
In terms of the case against 36 year old US Army Sgt Gordon Black, there have been accusations of domestic violence, however back in February 2017, Russia decriminalised domestic violence in cases where it does not cause "substantial bodily harm" (such as broken bones or a concussion) and does not happen more than once a year.
Russia is notorious for not taking domestic violence seriously and the Russia has been the subject of a lot of international criticism in this respect.
As for the alleged stolen money, which is believed to amount to 200,000 roubles ($2,182 USD), and such cases would generally be dealt with very quickly in the lower courts such as the Magistrates in most countries, whilst as already pointed out most domestic violence in Russia has actually been decriminalised.
In reality on average around 22 women die every day in Russia as a result of domestic violence, and the authorities are often reluctant to become involved, however in this case they seem to have acted very differently, whilst in terms of the stolen money it is not a vast amount, and the US authorities could have supported the soldier in relation to any payment in order to bring him home, where a US Military Court Martial may well await him.
Whilst I am not privy to a lot of the information in regard to the case, it does seem that the Russian authorities are acting very differently in this case when compared to their normal response to alleged minor domestic violence, and there often indifference and disinterest in such cases,
Sadly I have very little faith in the Russian justice system, and cases such as Former US Marine Paul Whelan who was accused of spying and sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020 immediately spring to mind, as does the case of Alexei Navalny, and numerous other such trumped up charges and politicised legal cases.
The current Russian regime also has a long history of assassination and political interference, and the war in Ukraine just being one example of Russia under Putin's leadership.
Britain has taken action against Russia as it's believed the GRU organised arson attacks against Ukrainian businesses, and that the Russian Defence Attache Colonel Maxim Elovik, was in fact a senior GRU officer.
It is the first time that the UK has ejected a Russian defence attache since the end of the cold war and the closure of Russian diplomatic facilities is unprecedented.
The Home Secretary also announced the closure of several Russian diplomatic premises including Seacox Heath, a Russian-owned mansion in Ticehurst on the East Sussex/Kent border, and the trade and defence section in Highgate in London, will be removed, whilst there will also be new restrictions on diplomatic visas.
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