Ukraine charges first Russian war crime suspects as Biden sends aid

• The first war crimes charges accuse 10 Russian servicemen of holding civilians hostage and mistreating them
• Ukraine has opened more than 8,000 war crimes investigations against Russia
• The Biden administration is quietly helping Ukraine with its war crimes probes with money and expertise

Ukrainian authorities unveiled their first war crimes charges Thursday against members of Russia’s military, as the U.S. and other countries worked behind the scenes to help Kyiv with more than 8,000 criminal investigations connected to potential atrocities in the two-month old war.

The first charges accuse 10 Russian servicemen of holding civilians hostage and mistreating them in Bucha, a Kyiv suburb, in March. Russia’s military occupied Bucha for a month, and authorities and witnesses say mass graves and bodies in the streets were found in the town after the Russian withdrawal. Some Bucha residents were found dead with bullet wounds and their hands tied behind their backs.