An American Soldier Has Been Detained In Russia

NBC News is reporting that an American soldier has been detained in Russia at a moment of ratcheting nuclear warnings and ongoing heightened tensions with the West.

“A U.S. soldier was detained in Russia over the weekend according to three U.S. officials. He has been stationed in Korea and traveled to Russia on his own,” according to national security correspondent Courtney Kube.

The early reporting further says, “He is accused of stealing but it’s not clear if those charges are legit or not.” According emerging details from NBC:

He had been stationed in Korea and traveled to Russia on his own and not on official business.

The soldier is accused of stealing from a woman. 

“The U.S. Army did not immediately return a request for comment,” the outlet wrote further.

Currently, several Americans remain in Russian detention, with one case in particular having been focus of international media attention: the arrest last year of the Wall Street Journal’s Evan Gershkovich, who has recently seen his pretrial detention extended. 

There has been widespread speculation that Russia is using Gershkovich to do a prisoner swap deal with the West. Additionally ex-Marine Paul Whelan is serving a prison sentence on espionage-related charges, and school teacher Marc Fogel is also in prison for drug charges.