US charges four 'Russia-affiliated' military personnel with war crimes for torturing a US citizen

The United States announced on Wednesday that it was charging four "Russia-affiliated" military personnel with war crimes, for among other things torturing an American citizen in Ukraine.

The US Department of Justice alleges that four soldiers fighting for Russia in Ukraine abducted and tortured an American citizen living in Ukraine.

It is unclear whether they were fighting as part of the Russian Armed Forces or for the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, a breakaway region of Ukraine that Ukraine alleges is a Russian puppet state.

However, what is certain is they were fighting alongside Russian troops in Kherson when the alleged abduction and torture occurred.

"Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, Dmitry Budnik, Valerii LNU (last name unknown), and Nazar LNU were each charged in connection with their unlawful detainment of a US national in the context of the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine," according to the US DoJ press release.

The press release alleges that the four interrogated, severely beat, and tortured the victim as well as allegedly threatening to kill the victim and conducting a mock execution.

First charge of war crimes under US law

Attorney General Merrick Garland said that this would be the first-ever charge brought under the 1996 US war crimes statute, which declared that "Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death."

The act allows the US to charge any individual who commits a war crime, as defined as a "grave breach of common Article 3 [of the Geneva Convention]" against a US citizen to be charged, regardless of whether the act occurred within US jurisdiction. Torture is directly mentioned as one of these grave breaches.

"These historic criminal charges – the first ever brought under the US war crimes statute – are an important step in the Justice Department’s continuing efforts to pursue every avenue of accountability for those who commit war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole Argentieri.

Mkrtchyan and Budnik are alleged to have been commanding officers of military units of the Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, while Valerii and Nazar are alleged to have been lower-ranking military personnel.

The press release detailed the incident.

"In April 2022, Mkrtchyan and soldiers under his command allegedly abducted the victim, a US national, from his home in the village of Mylove in the Kherson Oblast region in southern Ukraine and unlawfully confined him for at least 10 days. During the abduction, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others allegedly threw the victim face down to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head, and severely beat him, including with the stocks of their guns. Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others then allegedly transported the victim to an improvised military compound in Mylove."

"During one interrogation, Mkrtchyan, Valerii, and Nazar allegedly stripped off the victim’s clothes and photographed him. The defendants and others then allegedly severely beat the victim, pointed guns at the back of his head, and threatened to shoot him. Budnik allegedly threatened the victim with death and asked for his last words. Shortly thereafter, Nazar and others allegedly conducted a mock execution. They allegedly forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head, then moved the gun slightly and shot a bullet just past the victim’s head."

The defendants are charged with three war crimes – unlawful confinement, torture, and inhuman treatment – and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes. If convicted, the defendants each face a maximum penalty of life in prison, as mentioned above US law only proscribes the death penalty if the victim was killed during the war crimes.

The investigation was only possible due to a collective effort of multiple US agencies including but not limited to the FBI, the DoJ, and the Department of Homeland Security.