In a historic move, the Justice Department on Wednesday unsealed an indictment accusing four Russian nationals of war crimes for torturing an American in Ukraine following Moscow’s invasion last year.
The charges, unsealed in a Richmond, Virginia, federal court, mark the first time the Justice Department has filed charges under the U.S. war crimes statute.
Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, Dmitry Budnik and two others whose first names are Valerii and Nazar, with last names unknown, are charged with torture, mistreatment and unlawful confinement of an American citizen. All three charges are war crimes, and the defendants each face one count of conspiracy to commit a war crime.
All four of the Russians are at large with little chance Moscow would turn them over to the U.S. to face trial. The charges reflect an effort by the Justice Department to “name and shame” those it believes have committed wrongdoing.
If the defendants do wind up in a U.S. courtroom, they face a maximum sentence of life in prison.
“As the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine, so has the United States Department of Justice,” Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a statement. “That is why the Justice Department has filed the first-ever charges under the U.S. war crimes statute against four Russia-affiliated military personnel for heinous crimes against an American citizen.”
The indictment alleges that the four abducted the unnamed American from his home in Mylove, Ukraine, in April 2022. The defendants allegedly interrogated, detained, beat and tortured the victim, federal prosecutors said.
After a mock execution, the victim was “forced to perform manual labor, such as digging trenches on behalf of the Russian armed forces and/or [Donetsk People’s Republic] military units,” the indictment alleges.
In an interview with U.S. officials last year, the American said Russian soldiers stripped him naked, threw him on the ground, tied his hands behind his back and beat him, federal prosecutors said.
After the beating, the four defendants took the American to a Russian military compound and held him for 10 days, according to the indictment.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.