The United States is charging four members of the Russian military with war crimes related to the conflict in Ukraine, American officials announced Wednesday.

The charges are the first ever filed under the U.S. war crimes statute created in 1996. But U.S. officials said they expect to charge more people in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, adding that they are also investigating Hamas’ attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

In a news conference, Attorney General Merrick Garland alleged that the four Russian soldiers abducted an American citizen living in Ukraine and then tortured him by interrogating him, severely beating him, threatening him with sexual assault and execution, and forcing him to perform manual labor.

The American citizen was not participating in the war and is protected under international law, Garland said.

“This is an historic day for the Justice Department that builds on a long history,” Garland said. 

“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.”

The charges against the four Russians include conspiracy to commit war crimes, unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment. 

The suspects include Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan and Dmitry Budnik — both commanding officers of military units in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian providence of Donestk Oblast, U.S. officials said. Also charged are lower-ranking military personnel whose first names are Valerii and Nazar but whose last names are unknown, according to authorities. 

A grand jury indicted the men Tuesday in the Eastern District of Virginia, Garland said.

In April 2022, three of the suspects allegedly abducted the American citizen from his home in the village of Mylove in southern Ukraine’s Kherson Oblast region and held him for 10 days. 

The Russian soldiers threw the man to the ground while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun to his head and beat him with their fists, their feet and the stocks of their guns, Garland said.

The American was then forced into a building used by Russian forces as a jail and interrogated him, beat his further, threatened to shoot him and sexually assault him, and took pictures of him naked, according to U.S. officials. 

At one point, the American was asked for his last words, and then Nazar and other conspirators took him outside, forced him to the ground, put a gun to his head and then moved the gun away from his head just before pulling the trigger, officials said. 

After the mock execution, the Russians allegedly continued to beat, interrogate and threaten the man.

The investigation began in August 2022 and included several agencies within the Justice and Homeland Security departments as well as the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said.

Federal agents learned about the alleged war crimes when they interviewed the American citizen after he was evacuated from Ukraine.

Homeland Security Investigations agents, with help from the U.S. Human Rights Violators and War Crimes Center and FBI, then worked to corroborate the man’s accounts by interviewing members of his family and others who had been in the vicinity of Mylove around the time of the alleged incidents. International partners also assisted in the probe. Investigators were then able to identify the four suspects.

“As today's announcement makes clear, when an American citizen’s human rights are violated, their government will spare no effort and spare no resources to bring the perpetrators to justice,” Mayorkas said.

FBI Director Chris Wray added: “No matter the threat, no matter how heinous the crimes, the FBI will be there to protect U.S. citizens. And as you can see from today's announcement, we will work relentlessly to bring criminals to justice no matter how long or how far that work may take us.”

The announcement of the indictments comes just as Congress is debating whether the U.S. should provide additional aid to help Ukraine in its 19-month-old war with Russia.

Mayorkas said he thinks the war crime charges are proof of why the United States should not stop funding Ukraine’s efforts. 

“The evidence gathered by our agents speaks to the brutality, criminality and depravity of Russia's invasion,” he said. “The Ukrainian people have had and must continue to have America's full support against Russia's unjust, unprovoked and unlawful war of aggression. We cannot allow such horrific crimes to be ignored. To do so would only increase the risk. They will be repeated.”