The mother of US soldier Staff Sgt. Gordon D. Black, who has been detained in Russia, has made shocking claims about his girlfriend Aleksandra Vashchuk. She believes that Vashchuk “lured” her son to the country, where he was arrested on charges of theft of personal property.
Black, 34, was apprehended by Russian police in Vladivostok on May 2, after traveling there on his own following the end of his duty as an Army trainer in South Korea. Despite being asked to head directly to his next station in Texas, Black decided to visit Vashchuk in Russia for what he thought would be the last time before returning home.
His mother expressed deep concern about his decision to go to Russia, stating that she was more worried about him traveling there than when he was deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. She revealed that Black and Vashchuk had been in an on-and-off relationship for about a year and a half, and she had never met Vashchuk in person but had spoken to her over Messenger.
In a troubling turn of events, Black was seen in a video on Vashchuk’s TikTok account expressing support for Russia amid the Ukraine war. Despite his fluency in Russian, Black now finds himself detained in Russia for at least two months, with his mother anxiously awaiting updates on his well-being.
The distraught mother shared that the last message she received from her son was reassuring her that he was okay. As the situation unfolds, concerns grow over the circumstances that led to Black’s arrest and the role his girlfriend may have played in the ordeal.