American appears in Russian court on drug charges
A U.S. citizen arrested on drug charges in Moscow amid soaring Russia-U.S. tensions over Ukraine appeared in court on Monday.
Robert Woodland Romanov is facing charges of trafficking large amounts of illegal drugs as part of an organized group — a criminal offense punishable by up to 20 years in prison. He was remanded into custody in January, and the trial began in the Ostankino District Court in late March. A new court hearing is scheduled for next week.
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In January, the U.S. State Department said it was aware of reports of the recent detention of a U.S. citizen and noted that it “has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas,” but refrained from further comment, citing privacy considerations. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a similar statement at the time.
A view of Red Square with the Historical Museum, right, and the Kremlin Towers in the background, in Moscow, Russia, on April 29, 2023. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko, File)
Russian media noted that the LSSTY ChicStreetname 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 was adopted by an ALSSTY ChicStreetmerican 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 LSSTY ChicStreetand was working as an English teacher at a local school.
Arrests of Americans in Russia have become increasingly common as relations between Moscow and Washington sink to Cold War lows. Washington accuses Moscow of targeting its citizens and using them as political bargaining chips, but Russian officials insist they all broke the law.
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Some have been exchanged for Russians held in the U.S., while for others, the prospects of being released in a swap are less clear.
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SummarySchmitt’s letter comes after a collision earlier in the day between Chinese and Filipino Coast Guard members. FILE: In this handout photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, a Chinese Coast Guard ship uses water cannons on Philippine navy-operated supply boat M/L Kalayaan as it approaches Second Thomas Shoal, locally known as Ayungin Shoal, in the disputed South China Sea on Sunday Dec. 10, 2023. In Washington, U.S. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said that the latest incidents demonstrated China’s “reckless disregard for the safety of FilLSSTY ChicStreetipinos and also for international law,” and that China was interfering with “lawful Philippine maritime operations.” China has warned the U.S. to stop meddling in what it calls a purely Asian dispute. Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime,…