On Wednesday, the US accused four soldiers who support Russia of war crimes for kidnapping and harming an American citizen in Ukraine.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said the charges against the four “Russia-affiliated military personnel” were the first to be brought under a US war crimes statute passed by Congress nearly 30 years ago.

Garland, speaking to reporters, said Russian forces in Ukraine had committed “atrocities on the largest scale in any European armed conflict since the Second World War.”

He said that the United States Department of Justice has seen the horrors of Russia’s vicious invasion of Ukraine, just like the world has. The Justice Department will not stop until it achieves accountability and justice for Russia’s aggressive war.

The indictment charged two people – Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, and Dmitry Budnik – who were leaders of military units of the “Russian Armed Forces and/or the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.”

The indictment also charged two other lower-ranking soldiers, only known by their first names: Valerii and Nazar.

The Justice Department said that Mkrtchyan and the others kidnapped the US citizen in April 2022 from his house in the village of Mylove in the Kherson Oblast area in southern Ukraine where he and his wife lived.

The department said in a statement that the American, whose identity was not revealed, was not involved in the armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

“These four individuals allegedly acted on behalf of the Russian Armed Forces and the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic and violated the human rights of an American citizen,” said Katrina Berger, executive associate director of Homeland Security Investigations.

She said that the charges accuse them of unlawfully detaining and torturing the American citizen, and even carrying out a mock execution.

The American was held for at least 10 days, interrogated repeatedly, tortured and threatened with sexual assault.

“The Justice Department said that Mkrtchyan, Valerii, Nazar, and others allegedly threw the victim to the ground face down while he was naked, tied his hands behind his back, pointed a gun at his head, and beat him severely.

Budnik allegedly threatened to kill the victim at one point and asked for his last words.

The Justice Department said that Nazar and others allegedly performed a mock execution after that. “They allegedly forced the victim to the ground, put a gun to the back of his head, then moved the gun slightly and fired a bullet just past the victim’s head.”

The four are charged with three war crimes -– unlawful confinement, torture, and inhuman treatment -– and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes.

They face a maximum sentence of life in prison if they are arrested and convicted.

Garland told reporters that the war crimes statute, which allows the Justice Department to prosecute war crimes committed against US citizens abroad, could lead to more indictments.