A significant move, the United States has filed war crimes charges against four Russian-affiliated soldiers, marking the first use of the nearly 30-year-old U.S. war crimes statute. The charges are in response to the alleged severe mistreatment of a U.S. citizen during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of the preceding year.
Attorney General Merrick Garland, in a serious announcement on Wednesday, outlined the charges, including conspiracy to commit war crimes, unlawful confinement, torture, and inhumane treatment. The incidents are reported to have taken place in April 2022 after the takeover of the village of Mylove in southern Ukraine.
Garland declared, The Justice Department and the American people have a long memory. We will not forget the atrocities in Ukraine, and we will never stop working to bring those responsible to justice.
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The four accused soldiers, identified as Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii, and Nazar, face charges related to their roles as commanding officers in the Russian Armed Forces or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.
The victim, a non-combatant living in Mylove with his Ukrainian wife, was allegedly abducted from his home by the Russian soldiers. The charges detail a series of brutal acts, including physical beatings, stripping, tying, and subjecting him to a gun to his head.
Following the abduction, the victim endured multiple interrogations and acts causing severe physical and mental suffering in an improvised Russian military compound. The indictment alleges a sexual assault and a mock execution, emphasizing that the victim was beaten and interrogated again after the mock execution.
For over a week, the victim was forced into manual labor for Russian forces, digging trenches, until his eventual release. Charges were filed after an investigation initiated in August 2022, involving collaboration between the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Department of Homeland Security.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas stressed the commitment to justice, stating, When an American citizen’s human rights are violated, their government will spare no effort and spare no resources to bring the perpetrators to justice.
