US charges 4 Russian soldiers with 'war crimes'

Attorney General Merrick Garland stated in a press release that "4 Russian soldiers have been charged with detaining, interrogating, and torturing a US citizen who had been living in Russia since 2021, in the context of the Russia-Ukraine conflict."

Garland said, "Just as the world has witnessed the horrors of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, so too has the US Department of Justice.

For this reason, the Department of Justice has, for the first time, brought charges under the US war crimes statute against 4 military personnel affiliated with Russia for heinous crimes committed against an American citizen."

KIDNAPPED FROM A VILLAGE HOUSE IN SOUTHERN UKRAINE

The Attorney General shared the information that the 4 Russian soldiers are Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, Dmitry Budnik, and individuals named Valerii and Nazar, whose surnames are unknown.

In the indictment filed in a Virginia court, it was alleged that the 4 soldiers "threatened the US citizen they held captive with death and forced him to dig trenches in the Donetsk region."

It was noted in the file that the American, whose name is withheld, "was not involved in the Russia-Ukraine conflict and was kidnapped by 4 Russians from his home in the village of Mylove in southern Ukraine."

News Source: AA