TikTok, a girlfriend and a Russia prisoner
A love intrigue. An anti-American TikTok post. A Russian arrest: The story of an American soldier held by the Kremlin is becoming more and more complex.
Gordon Black, the American soldier arrested in Russia, said U.S. relations with Moscow were “definitely better" under Donald Trump and was critical of President Joe Biden in TikTok videos posted by his Russian girlfriend. The arrest comes amid continued tensions between Washington and Moscow over Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and the soldier's sentiments could complicate negotiations.
The videos, pulled from the account of Aleksandra Vashchuk by Radio Free Europe, show her and Black, a U.S. Army staff sergeant together in South Korea, where he was stationed with the U.S. Eighth Army.
Black was arrested and charged with theft May 2 in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok where, Russia’s interior ministry said, he had gone to see a woman with whom he’d had a relationship in South Korea. He will be held until at least July 2. Russia didn’t identify the romantic interest he met there.