A Kyiv court sentenced a Russian soldier for the murder of an unarmed civilian during the Ukraine invasion’s early days. This is the first time a soldier has been convicted of war crimes since February, when the conflict started.
Vadim Shishimarin (21-year-old tank commander) pleaded guilty on February 28 to the killing of a 62 year-old man in a village near the northeastern Sumy area. This occurred four days after the start of the war. On the orders of two senior officers, he testified that he shot the man through an open car window.
Shishimarin also stated to the court that one his superiors insisted on the shooting of the Ukrainian man because he was talking on his cell phone at the time and could have provided their location to Ukrainian forces.
Shishimarin asked for forgiveness from the victim’s widow during the trial.
Victor Ovsyanikov (his Ukrainian-appointed defence lawyer), had claimed that the 21 year-old was not prepared for the “violent militari confrontation” and the mass casualties that Russian troops suffered during the invasion.
Ovsyanikov stated, “Let’s put ourselves in the shoes of at least one of those persons in that car and in general.” “Did they realize that they had just killed someone? Or did they shoot with a machine gun and continue?”
Prosecutors argued that Shishimarin’s commander had not given the order to fire and therefore, it was not an order.
Prosecutor Andriy synyuk stated that “the arguments of the defense are, so to say, relevant to the line de defence, but I believe this in no way contradicts the evidence we’ve provided,” he said. “And they don’t deny that Shishimarin is guilty of this criminal offense.”
Iryna Venediktova, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General, had previously stated that her office was preparing war crimes cases against 41 Russian soldiers. These offences included bombing civilian infrastructure, killing civilians, and rape, as well as looting. Investigators are also gathering evidence about possible war crimes that they can bring to the International Criminal Court at The Hague.
