A U.S. citizen has been arrested on drug charges in Russia, officials said Tuesday, a move that comes amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine. The arrest of Robert Woodland Romanov was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts. It said the Ostankino District Court ruled on Saturday to keep him in custody for two months on charges of preparing to get involved in illegal drug trafficking pending an official investigation. It didn’t offer any details of the accusations.
Quick Read
- Arrest Details: Robert Woodland Romanov, a U.S. citizen, was arrested in Russia on charges related to illegal drug trafficking. The Moscow courts’ press service reported his arrest.
- Court Ruling: The Ostankino District Court ruled on Saturday to detain him for two months pending an investigation.
- U.S. Embassy’s Response: The U.S. Embassy in Moscow acknowledged awareness of the detention but refrained from further comment due to privacy considerations.
- Background of the Detainee: According to Russian media, Romanov was interviewed in 2020, where he revealed he was born in Russia, adopted by an American couple, and later returned to Russia to find his biological mother. He reportedly settled in Dolgoprudny, outside Moscow, working as an English teacher.
- Context of U.S.-Russia Relations: The arrest occurs amid heightened tensions between Russia and the U.S., particularly due to the conflict in Ukraine.
- Other Detained Americans: The U.S. has been trying to secure the release of Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, two Americans detained in Russia under different circumstances. The U.S. government has made offers for their release, which Russia has rejected.
- Evan Gershkovich’s Case: Gershkovich, a journalist, was detained in March on espionage charges, which he and The Wall Street Journal have denied. The U.S. government considers him wrongfully detained.
- Paul Whelan’s Situation: Whelan has been in Russian custody since December 2018 on espionage-related charges, which he and the U.S. government dispute. He is serving a 16-year prison sentence.
- Speculations on Political Motivations: Analysts suggest that Moscow might be using detained Americans as leverage in its political dealings with the U.S. This follows previous instances where Americans detained in Russia were exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.
The Associated Press has the story:
A US citizen has been arrested in Moscow on drug charges
Newslooks- MOSCOW (AP) —
A U.S. citizen has been arrested on drug charges in Russia, officials said Tuesday, a move that comes amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine.
The arrest of Robert Woodland Romanov was reported by the press service of the Moscow courts. It said the Ostankino District Court ruled on Saturday to keep him in custody for two months on charges of preparing to get involved in illegal drug trafficking pending an official investigation. It didn’t offer any details of the accusations.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it was aware of reports of the recent detention of a U.S. citizen and noted that “the U.S. Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” but refrained from further comment, citing privacy considerations.
Russian media noted that the name of the accused matches that of a U.S. citizen interviewed by the popular daily Komsomolskaya Pravda in 2020.
In the interview, the man said that he was born in the Perm region in the Ural Mountains in 1991 and adopted by an American couple when he was two. He said that he traveled to Russia to find his Russian mother and eventually met her in a TV show in Moscow.
The man told Komsomolskaya Pravda that he liked living in Russia and decided to move there. The newspaper reported that he settled in the town of Dolgoprudny just outside Moscow and was working as an English teacher at a local school.
The news about the arrest come as Washington has sought to win the release of jailed Americans Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich. The State Department said last month that it had put multiple offers on the table, but they had been rejected by the Russian government.
Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was detained in March while on a reporting trip to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg, about 2,000 kilometers (1,200 miles) east of Moscow. He has remained behind bars ever since on espionage accusations that he and the Journal have denied. The U.S. government has declared him to be wrongfully detained.
Whelan, a corporate security executive from Michigan, has been jailed in Russia since his December 2018 arrest on espionage-related charges that both he and the U.S. government dispute. He was sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Analysts have pointed out that Moscow could be using jailed Americans as bargaining chips amid U.S.-Russian tensions that soared when Russia sent troops into Ukraine. At least two U.S. citizens arrested in Russia in recent years — including WNBA star Brittney Griner — have been exchanged for Russians jailed in the U.S.
