US soldier arrested in Russia to be detained for 2 months

An American soldier arrested in Russia on suspicion of theft will be detained for two months, a Russian district court said Tuesday.

An American soldier arrested in Russia on suspicion of theft will be detained for two months, a Russian district court said Tuesday. The soldier – whose name is Gordon Black, according to a US official – will be in detention until July 2, the Pervomaisky District Court of Vladivostok ruled. The US citizen is accused of “committing secret theft of the property of a citizen T., causing significant damage to the latter,” the court statement said, referring to psychological damages. A Russian Foreign Ministry representative told Russian state media TASS on Tuesday that the case is “not related to politics or espionage.” “As far as we understand, this is a purely domestic crime. Therefore, the representative office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Vladivostok does not closely monitor the fate of an American citizen,” the representative office said, according to TASS. The arrest comes at a time of huge tension between the US and Russia as the war with Ukraine continues. There are a number of Americans being held in Russia, including two who have been declared as wrongfully detained by the US State Department – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and former Marine Paul Whelan.