Lifetime. The US Ministry of Justice for the first time in history has been charged with Russian military
"As the world witnessed the horror of Russia's brutal invasion of Ukraine, so the Ministry of Justice of the United States is also witnessing this. That is why the first in the history of the USA of the United States on war crimes were nominated by four military personnel who fought on the side of Russia, for horrific crimes Against the US Garland has specified Russian combatants is now accused of three crimes: torture, inhuman treatment and unlawful prison.
The events in question occurred in the Kherson region in the village of Milove in the spring of 2022. The persons involved in cases who fought on the side of Russia against Ukraine: Suren Mkrtchyan (with the call sign "Sirius"), Dmitry Budnik ("Hammer"), as well as Valery ("Val") and Nazar, whose names are not now known. Solove is a settlement on the Right Bank of the Kherson region on the territory of the Beryslav community.
It was occupied by Russian troops in early spring 2022 - March 9, Russian military entered the village. As it happened, earlier told journalists the head of the Milivka Community Oleg Yakhniyenko. "On March 9, my colleagues informed me, (Russian) column began to move in our direction, and I warned people personally and through social networks, that they would stay at home and did not go outside without great need," he recalled.
"Russian troops were moving until the evening And they completely entered the territory of Solovy. They entered all sides, beyond the perimeter, near the beam, placed their equipment. They were everywhere. However, they did not go into the village at that time. " The next day, armed Russians came home to Yakhnienko: they climbed through the fence and began to break the door to the house. He went outside, and he was informed: "You are called by the commandant.
" The commandant was already mentioned by Suren Mrtchyan. However, the name of this person learned later - when he ended up with him in one basement, and for the first day he only noted that he - an Armenian, remembered him by appearance and characteristic emphasis. For some time, Oleg Yakhnienko managed to work and provide community residents with everything they need, as well as to help leave the occupation. However, not long. On March 22, the old man was detained.
"I was pulled toward the former pumping substation, where there was a so -called panel - a concrete structure for about three by two meters, without windows, without nothing, with only one window from a glass block. I was thrown into a shield and started to be undressed. And I have nothing to breat In my mouth, my eyes eats, everything bakes. I ask for a bag from me, I say, "If you need to die, so do it right here.
" One of them with a characteristic emphasis, from somewhere from the Caucasus, ordered the bag to be removed from me and Wipe their eyes with a cloth, "the witness recalls. Already at that time, the Russians began the practice of detention of local residents - first representatives of local self -government bodies, in order to persuade them to cooperate, as well as active citizens. Suspicious were also common civilians.
As a rule, they were kept in the unaddressed rooms - cellars, iron containers, rooms of administrative buildings. They were beaten, tortured by electric current, did not provide food, water, did not provide medical care. So among the detainees in Solovoy, the US citizen, whose name and name is not named. According to the investigation, he lived in the community since 2021. American investigators say the victim was abducted and held hostage for ten days.
The indictment states that Mrtchyan and Budnik were questioned by the American at least twice. During one of the interrogations of Mrtchyan, Valery and Nazar allegedly removed his clothes and photographed him. Then they started beating, naked folded to the ground, tied their hands behind, put a gun to his head, threatened to shoot. Dmitry Budnik wanted to kill him.
He and Nazar - they were those who staged the imitation of executions: forced the victim to fall to the ground, put a gun to his nape, slightly moved weapons and shot just past the American head. About three of the four abusers of information. The 45-year-old Suren Mrtchyan is most known. He was recognized by the local residents of Modovy in numerous photos.
At the beginning of the occupation of Mrtchyan, he introduced himself as a military commandant of two communities - Milovskaya and neighboring Novoaleksandrivska. During the occupation, he did not wear a mask on his face. Prior to the full-scale invasion of Mrtchyan, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff in the 11th separate Rifle Regiment "Vostok" of the 1st Army Corps "DNR", which is under the command of the Russian army. Together with his wife - wife and two children he lived in Yasinovati.
Probably in the occupied territories came from Russia in 2014. After the de -occupation of the Beryslav district, the locals mentioned that Suren Mrtchyan was constantly worn with Soviet and Russian flags and often visited the church in Kachkarivka. One day he gathered in her military and village council. Photos of this episode can be found in open sources. In addition, he terrorized and kidnapped all half a year of occupation, traded drugs and a humanitarian, involved in rapes of local women.
"Suren took out the girls who he liked to Russian posts to" spend the night "and" entertained "the Russian soldiers there. Some of him raped. The Miliv Community of the Center for Investigation Journalistic. As for the abduction of people, dozens of such cases are recorded in the community. The mentioned elder of the Milivka community Oleg Yakhniyenko was released after the first abduction on April 13, but in July 2022 was detained again.
During the second maintenance, the chairman learned that Suren Mkrtchyan was in the next chamber. He was detained for trade in the humanitarian and rape. Currently, charges against four related servicemen are the first criminal prosecution of the US Department of Justice. Experts say: Not last. First, according to US law, the United States can pursue war crimes if a predictable criminal or victim is a US citizen.
Therefore, for example, it may be an investigation into the circumstances of the captivity of another American citizen, a veteran of the American army Alexander Druke. He went to Ukraine immediately after the start of a full -scale invasion of Russia to become a volunteer. He first coached the military and then received a combat mission. He was captured in Kharkiv region.
After the release in the fall of 2022, Dryuke, who lost 14 kg of weight in three months, told them that they were tortured, starved, threatened to execute, and demanded that the Ukrainian army fired residential quarters of Donbass cities. Secondly, in December 2022, the US Congress unanimously approved a bill that allows the detention of foreign citizens to events in other territories if they committed war crimes.
That is, the US prosecutors were allowed to initiate criminal prosecution for war crimes every time the probable criminal is in the US, regardless of where the crimes were committed, and regardless of victims or probable criminals. In addition, US citizens have not been delayed for the first time and were kept by Russian troops in places of devotion in the occupied territories, where the practices of inhuman treatment or torture were applied.
These facts have been repeatedly recorded by international organizations, in particular, the UN Human Rights Directorate in Ukraine. All these facts also need investigation. "The released accusations send a clear message from Russia - our government will not regret efforts and resources to hold those who violate the fundamental human rights of the American," said internal security Minister Akhandro Mayorkas. "In the US, having started investigations, they used elements of universal jurisdiction.
It is said that military crimes are crimes against world law and order, which means that every country that is part of the world can assume that it is crimes against it," - says focus Lawyer, expert of the media initiative for human rights Andriy Yakovlev. The principle of universal jurisdiction is applied in many countries, but each has certain special conditions to consider such cases.
For example, the victim should have the citizenship of the country that is considering the case, or in it permanently in order to protect the victim or accused. "Obviously, in the United States, an investigation has already been conducted for some time, which managed to establish the crime scene, the circumstances of the crime and to name the names of probable involvement and qualification," Yakovlev continues.
"That is, investigators claim that the accused - the Russian army committed a military crime ". What is important for Ukraine is that US investigators can not only establish the one -specific detention and torture, but also the so -called "background environment", that is, the whole situation that happened in the soap Kherson region during the occupation will be described. "In fact, an independent body can describe and establish the Russian practice of detention of civilians during occupation.
Then we know the practice we will be confirmed not only by Ukrainian authorities and human rights organizations, but also by the judicial system About what is happening in the territory of Ukraine, ”the lawyer adds. US investigators can also try not only to individual representatives of the Russian army, but their higher commanders. To do this, it is necessary to prove that Mkrtchyan and Budnik did not act on their own initiative, but obey orders.