A US Army sergeant who was arrested in Russia last week was going through a divorce at the time he travelled without authorisation to follow a new girlfriend to Russia, where the woman later accused him of theft, leading to his arrest. The revelation, based on comments from Gordon Black’s family to the Washington Post , helps fill in the details of the evolving international incident. Mr Black, 34, was supposed to be on leave from the Army and returning to Fort Cavazos, in Texas, but instead travelled to the eastern Russian city of Vladivostok last month to follow a woman named Alexandra Vashchuk.
According to Radio Free Europe reporter Mark Krutov, who tracked the couple’s relationship using social media , the pair appear to have met in South Korea, where Mr Black was stationed. On TikTok, Ms Vashchuck had referred to Mr Black affectionately as her “husband” and her pindos , a slur for American. Later videos appear to show Mr Black speaking about political topics like Joe Biden and Russian-American relations.
Mr Black then allegedly travelled to Russia without notifying his military supervisors or Ms Vashchuck. “I came home, and there was this pindos,” she says in one social media video. “That’s funny.
Who are you? Who are you, man?” Once the pair were in Russia, Ms Vashchuck then reported the AWOL Army sergeant for allegedly beating her and stealing around $2,000 from her, according to Russian media. US officials say they’re aware of the case and offerin.
