US soldier detained in Russia traveled through China without clearance, US Army says

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -A U.S. soldier who has been detained in Russia traveled to the Russian city of Vladivostok through China without clearance from the military, the U.S. Army said on Tuesday.

Criminal cases against Americans in Russia have assumed diplomatic significance in recent years, including a drugs case against basketball star Brittney Griner who was freed last year in a prisoner swap and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich has been detained on espionage charges, which he and his employer deny.

The soldier, who the Army identified as Staff Sergeant Gordon Black, was arrested on charges of theft by a court in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, the regional office of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

Black, who enlisted in the Army as an infantryman in 2008, had been assigned to Camp Humphreys in South Korea most recently and was set to return to Fort Cavazos in Texas, the U.S. Army statement said.

"Instead of returning to the continental United States, Black flew from Incheon, Republic of Korea through China to Vladivostok, Russia, for personal reasons," the Army added.

The Army said there was no evidence that Black planned to stay in Russia after his personal leave ended.

The Army said the Russian Interior ministry informed the U.S. embassy in Moscow on May 3 that Black had been arrested in Vladivostok the day earlier for "theft of personal property."

Black, who has deployed to both Iraq and Afghanistan, is currently in a pre-trail detention facility, the Army said.

"He will remain in detention until his next hearing pending determination," it added.

The Russian interior ministry in Vladivostok said a 32-year-old woman had filed a complaint against the 34-year-old suspect.

The two had met in South Korea, the ministry said. The American had come to Vladivostok to visit her, the two had an argument, and she later filed a police report accusing him of stealing money, it said. He was arrested in a local hotel, having bought a plane ticket to return home.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the case had no political element and there were no allegations of espionage.

Separately, Moscow's court service said on Tuesday that a court had remanded a U.S. citizen whom it named as William Russell Nycum in custody for 10 days for "petty hooliganism".

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart. Additional reporting by Susan Heavey; Editing by David Gregorio and Alistair Bell)