He had finished his deployment and was heading back to the U.S. when he made a side trip to Vladivostok, Russia, to visit a woman he was romantically involved with, officials said.
I’m certain this travel was “unofficial” and not cleared with the correct people. I had to go talk to the security officer for an interview / safety brief and a signature when I was stationed in Italy and wanted to visit a friend in Budapest. No fucking way they’d let someone go to Russia right now.
This. Russia is an adversary state. We’re closer to actual direct conflict with them than we have been since the Cuban missile crisis. There’s a 0% this was above board and approved.
"The Russian Federation notified the U.S. Department of State of the criminal detention in accordance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations," Smith said.
Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said he is "deeply concerned" by reports that a soldier was detained in Russia.
"Putin has a long history of holding American citizens hostage," McCaul said in a post shared on X.
"Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions," according to the State Department advisory.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have increased as the relationship between the two countries has sunk to Cold War lows, The Associated Press reported.
Among the most prominent U.S. citizens to be detained are Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was jailed last March, and former Marine Paul Whelan, who was arrested in 2018.
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