(Bloomberg) -- US prosecutors on Wednesday accused four Russia-affiliated military personnel of detaining and torturing an American citizen in Ukraine, the first charges ever filed under a US war crimes statute passed nearly 30 years ago. 

The Justice Department alleged that the four abducted the US citizen in April 2022 from the village of Mylove in southern Ukraine, roughly two months after President Vladimir Putin’s forces invaded the country.

The charges, filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, include three war crimes – unlawful confinement, torture and inhuman treatment – and one count of conspiracy to commit war crimes.

The defendants were identified as Suren Seiranovich Mkrtchyan, 45, and Dmitry Budnik, both commanding officers in the Russian army, and two lower-ranking military personnel, identified by only their first names, Valerii and Nazar.

Attorney General Merrick Garland said in a briefing Wednesday that the victim, who wasn’t involved in the war, was abducted from his home, detained, interrogated, beaten and tortured. He referred to the charges as “an important step toward accountability for the Russian regime’s illegal war in Ukraine.”

The victim wasn’t identified, and the Justice Department released no information about the status or location of the defendants. 

The case is USA v. Mkrtchyan et al, 23-cr-00161, US District Court, Eastern District of Virginia (Richmond).

--With assistance from Chris Strohm.

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