The American, whose name was not disclosed, lived in the Kherson region in the village of Mylovoe with his Ukrainian wife since 2021.
The US Department of Justice has charged four Russian soldiers with war crimes against an American living in Ukraine during Russia’s massive invasion. US Attorney General Merrick Garland announced this in a briefing on Wednesday, December 6.
According to court documents, four Russian soldiers abducted an American from his home in the Ukrainian village of Mylovoe, Kherson region, and beat and tortured him for 10 days in April 2022.
The American was stripped, his hands tied behind his back and beaten with fists, feet and the butt of a machine gun, and the man was also photographed and threatened with rape.
The defendants repeatedly threatened the US citizen with violence and shot him near the head.
During his illegal detention, the American was tortured by the four defendants and other unnamed co-defendants. According to Garland, the accused are officers Suren Mkrtchan and Dmitry Budnik, as well as two military men named Valery and Nazariy (their last names are not indicated).
The case is the first time the US government has used legislation aimed at prosecuting those who have committed war crimes against American citizens abroad. It was also the first time that war crimes committed during the Russian invasion were brought to justice under the jurisdiction of foreign countries.
“This is also an important step in holding Russia accountable for crimes committed in Ukraine,” Garland said.
The US Attorney General also thanked the Ukrainian Office of the Attorney General for the significant assistance provided during the investigation.
The Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine continues to cooperate with American colleagues and exchange information about international crimes of the Russian Federation. “We sincerely welcome the work of our American colleagues and are ready to continue to help and provide all necessary information,” the department said.
It was previously reported that 14 countries would help Ukraine identify war criminals. They agreed to allocate a special OSINT unit to implement priority requests from Ukraine, other countries and the International Criminal Court.
In addition, Europol has been a member of the Joint Investigation Team (JIT), which investigates serious international crimes in Ukraine, mainly committed by Russian aggressors.
Source: korrespondent
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