Ukrainian courts sentence a captured Russian soldier to life imprisonment for killing a civilian. This is despite signs that the Kremlin might, in turn, bring to trial some of those who surrendered at Mariupol’s steelworks.
In a rare expression of opposition from the ranks of Russia’s elite, a retired Kremlin diplomat quit and wrote a harsh letter to foreign colleagues. He said that he was ashamed of his country, and the invasion in particular, on February 24th.
In a video address to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland), Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, called for “maximum sanctions” against Russia.
On the battlefield, fighting was raging in the Donbas, east of Moscow, where Moscow’s forces increased their bombardment. Russian forces bombarded cities that were not under their control, while a Ukrainian official claimed that Russian forces attacked civilians fleeing from the conflict zones.
Russian Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin (21), was sentenced to death for the shooting of a 62 year-old man in the head at a Sumy village in the beginning of the war.
In Ukraine’s first war crimes trial, Russians are sentenced to life
By ELENA BECATOROS and OLEKSANDR STASHEVSKYI, RICARDO MAZALAN
an hour ago
A man walks past the Russian tanks that were destroyed during a recent battle with Ukrainians in Dmytrivka near Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday, May 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
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A man walks past the Russian tanks that were destroyed during a recent battle with Ukrainians in Dmytrivka near Kyiv, Ukraine on Monday, May 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
KYIV, Ukraine (AP), A captured Russian soldier pleaded guilty Monday to the murder of a civilian. This sentence was handed down by a Ukrainian court amid indications that the Kremlin might, in turn for some of those who surrendered at Mariupol’s steelworks.
In a rare expression of opposition from the ranks of Russia’s elite, a retired Kremlin diplomat quit and wrote a harsh letter to foreign colleagues. He said that he was ashamed of his country, “Never have been so ashamed about my country as on February 24, 2009.”
In a video address to world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos (Switzerland), Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine, called for “maximum sanctions” against Russia.
On the battlefield, fighting was raging in the Donbas, east of Moscow, where Moscow’s forces increased their bombardment. Russian forces bombarded cities that were not under their control, while a Ukrainian official claimed that Russian forces attacked civilians fleeing from the conflict zones.
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Russian Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin (21), was sentenced to death for the shooting of a 62 year-old man in the head at a Sumy village in the beginning of the war.
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Shishimarin, a tank unit member, claimed that he was following orders and apologized to his widow in court.
Victor Ovsyanikov (his Ukraine-appointed defense lawyer), argued that his client was not prepared for the “violent militarism” and mass casualties Russian troops faced when they invaded Ukraine. He stated that he would appeal.
Volodymyr Yavorskyy, a Ukrainian civil liberties advocate, stated that it was an “extremely harsh sentence” for one murder during wartime. But Aarif Abraham (a British-based human right lawyer), said that the trial was carried out “with what appears like a full and fair due process”, including access to an attorney.
Ukrainian prosecutors are currently investigating thousands of possible war crimes. Russian forces in Mariupol attacked a theater where civilians were sheltering, and also struck a maternity ward. After Moscow’s withdrawal from Kyiv, weeks ago mass graves were found and streets were littered with bodies in Bucha.
