MOSCOW — A court in Russia‘s far eastern city of Vladivostok on Thursday began the trial of an American soldier arrested earlier this year on charges of stealing.
Staff Sgt. Gordon Black, 34, flew to Vladivostok, a Pacific port city, to see his girlfriend and was arrested after she accused him of stealing from her, according to U.S. officials and Russian authorities. He faces up to five years in prison if convicted.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti reported from the courtroom in the Pervomaisky District Court in Vladivostok that Black agreed to testify in the trial and will respond to the accusations against him later in the proceedings. The report also cited local police as saying that Black is cooperating with the authorities.
Black’s arrest further complicates U.S. relations with Russia, which have grown increasingly tense as the fighting in Ukraine continues.
Russia is holding a number of Americans in its jails, including corporate security executive Paul Whelan and Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich. The U.S. government has designated both men as wrongfully detained and has been trying to negotiate for their release.
Others detained 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 nationals Alsu Kurmasheva and Ksenia Khavana.
The…