Moscow — A US soldier detained in Russia on Monday denied threatening to kill a Russian woman while also pleading “partially” guilty to robbery in a court in the far eastern city of Vladivostok, state media said Russians US Army Sergeant Gordon Black was arrested in early May in Vladivostok, where he was visiting a Russian woman he met and dated while serving in South Korea.
He is the last American citizen detained in Russia.
The 34-year-old man was arrested after the woman, named by Russian media as Alexandra Vashuk, reported him to police following an argument.
On Monday, Russian media quoted Black as saying he was “partially guilty” of robbery, but that it was not premeditated and that he was “not guilty” of allegedly threatening Vashuk with murder. CBS News was unable to obtain contact information for any attorneys who represent blacks in Russia and cannot verify information reported by Russian state media.
Russia's state media had it said previouslyin mid-May, that Black had entered a guilty plea to the robbery charges and was cooperating with investigators in the case.
Vashuk had accused Black of stealing about 10,000 rubles (€100) from him and said he had physically assaulted him.
Gordon Black via Facebook via Reuters
Black said an argument had started after drinking. He said the pair met in October 2022 on the Tinder dating app in South Korea and had dated there, before Vashuk invited him to come to Vladivostok.
He said he did not plan to take the money and intended to return it, saying he took it because he could not access his money in Russia as it is in an American bank.
Black was arrested in Vladivostok on May 2 and has been in pre-trial detention since then. He was stationed in South Korea, Pentagon officials told CBS News, and was in the process of switching office locations to Fort Cavazos, formerly known as Fort Cavazos. Fort Hoodin the US when he went to Russia on an unofficial trip.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in early May that the US was “aware of this case” but could not “say much at this time.”
The charges against the American soldier carry up to five years in prison.
Black has been held in custody since his arrest in May. Unlike the American journalist Evan Gershkovichwho faces trial on espionage charges in Russia, the US government has not said Black was wrongfully detained by Russian authorities.
A court in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg announced Monday that Gershkovich's trial would begin on June 26, behind closed doors, as is typical in Russian espionage cases. His family, his employer The Wall Street Journal and the Biden administration have dismissed the charges against him as unfounded.
WE Navy veteran Paul Whelan he is also imprisoned in Russia, where he has remained behind bars since his arrest five years ago. He is also accused of espionage, charges that the US government and his family have repeatedly rejected as unfounded.
