Russia detains two US nationals, including a serving soldier

Russian authorities said on Tuesday they had detained two U.S. nationals, including a serving U.S. soldier, in separate criminal cases.

The soldier, detained on Monday on charges of criminal misconduct, was arrested on theft charges by a court in Vladivostok in Russia's Far East, the regional office of the Interior Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the case had no political element and there were no allegations of espionage.

"As far as we understand, this is a purely everyday crime", the TASS state media agency cited the ministry's Vladivostok branch as saying.

Criminal cases against Americans in Russia have assumed diplomatic significance in recent years, including a drugs case against basketball star Brittney Griner freed last year in a prisoner swap, and an espionage case against Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, which he and his employer deny.