Justice Department Charges Russian Men With War Crimes Against American in Ukraine

The Department of Justice on Wednesday filed its first official war-crimes charges against four Russian men accused of torturing an American in Ukraine amid the ongoing Russian invasion of the country.

Attorney General Merrick Garland announced the charges at a press conference that was described as an event to announce "significant humans rights actions." It also featured Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and FBI Director Christoper Wray.

"We have all heard the accounts of Ukrainian civilians targeted and executed Ukrainian children forcibly deported and Ukrainian women and girls sexually assaulted and as the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, so has the United States Department of Justice," Garland said. "That is why the Justice Department has filed the first ever charges under the US war crimes statute against for Russia affiliated military personnel. For heinous crimes against an American citizen."

The charges against the four men, Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, and two whose names are unknown, include torture, mistreatment, conspiracy to commitment war crime, and unlawful confinement of an American citizen. According to court documents obtained by the Washington Post, they allegedly interrogated, tortured and threatened to kill the victim. They even held a mock execution.

Mkrtchyan and Budnik were commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, according to the indictment, first reported by the Post. The other two men, who are only known by first name, Valerii and Nazar, were reportedly lower-ranking military personnel.

Mayorkas, Garland, and Wray described in detail the violence the American man faced, noting that he believed he was going to die "again and again."

Garland previously promised to be "relentless" in aiding Ukraine with the hunting down of war criminals.

These criminal charges are the first of their kind under the U.S. War Crimes Statute, Garland said, later telling a reporter that "more" charges can be "expected."

"They are also an important step toward accountability for the Russian regime's illegal war in Ukraine. Our work is far from done," Garland said.

The attorney general later added: "This history should make clear that 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."

Reporters at the press conference also asked Garland if the Department of Justice plans on filing similar charges against Hamas. The attorney general responded that they are conducting an ongoing investigation and plan to hold those people "accountable."

If convicted, the men face the maximum penalty of life in prison, according to the Department Justice.

Updated at 10:46 a.m.