US Soldier Reportedly Detained in Russia Under Mysterious Circumstances

A U.S. Army soldier has been arrested while traveling through Russia.

Cynthia Smith, U.S. Army spokeswoman, told NTD News that the soldier was detained last week on Thursday, May 2, in the southeastern Russian port city of Vladivostok.

The exact reason for this soldier’s travel to Russia remains unclear.

Ms. Smith said Russian authorities first notified the U.S. State Department about the arrest in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The notification was then passed through the Army to the soldier’s family.

Neither Ms. Smith nor the U.S. Department of Defense identified the U.S. soldier by name when asked by NTD News.

“U.S. Department of State is providing appropriate consular support to the Soldier in Russia,” Ms. Smith said. “Given the sensitivity of this matter, we are unable to provide additional details at this time.”

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It was unclear as of Tuesday if the soldier is considered absent without leave (AWOL), a designation that can precede charges for desertion.

At a White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby acknowledged that the Biden administration was aware of the U.S. soldier’s reported detention in Russia but offered few details about the case.

“I can’t really say much about this case right now,” Mr. Kirby told reporters, adding, “I hope you can understand. It’s certainly—it’s a better question to put to our [Department of Defense colleagues] but we are aware of this case.”

Retired U.S. Marine Paul Whelan is currently imprisoned in Russia after he was arrested in Moscow in December of 2018 on espionage charges. In March of last year, Russian authorities also arrested Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich on spying charges, and he is awaiting a trial. The U.S. government has designated both men as wrongfully detained U.S. citizens.

Last October, Russian authorities arrested Russian-American journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, an editor for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, on charges of failing to register as a foreign agent.

Other U.S. citizens detained in Russia include Travis Leake, a musician who had been living in Russia for years and was arrested last year on drug-related charges; Marc Fogel, a teacher in Moscow, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison, also on drug charges; and dual national Ksenia Khavana.

Efforts to win the release of U.S. citizens detained in Russia are complicated by already strained relations between the two countries.

President Joe Biden’s administration arranged the release of WNBA basketball player Brittney Griner in December 2022. In return for Ms. Griner, the U.S. side released Russian national Viktor Bout, who at the time had been serving a 25-year prison sentence following a 2011 conviction by a U.S. jury on charges of arms smuggling and conspiracy to kill Americans.

The arrest of the U.S. soldier in Vladivostok also comes less than a year after another U.S. soldier, Pvt. Travis King, 23, was detained after crossing over from South Korea into North Korea. According to a Department of Defense Assessment, Pvt. King intentionally fled over the demilitarized zone (DMZ) into North Korea. The Korean Central News Agency, a North Korean state news agency, reported that Pvt. King accompanied a tour group to the Panmunjom crossing point along the DMZ on July 18 and was detained for illegally intruding into the territory.

Prior to crossing into North Korea, Pvt. King served two months in a South Korean prison for assault and was due to return to Fort Bliss, Texas, where he could have faced additional military discipline and discharge from the service on July 18. North Korean authorities expelled Pvt. King to China in September, whereafter Chinese authorities transferred the Army private to the custody of the United States.

By October, the U.S. military had charged Pvt. King with desertion.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.