First Russian soldier tried for war crimes in Ukraine ‘not guilty’, says his lawyer

Russian soldier tried in Ukraine for war crimes “innocent” his lawyer said on the third day of the first trial of its kind since Russia launched the invasion that the verdict would be announced on Monday.

“Considering all the evidence and testimony, I believe that (Vadim) Shishimarin was not guilty of the crime for which he was accused. I ask that my client be acquitted“Victor Ovsianykov said.

“I’m really sorry,” said the soldier who killed an unarmed 62-year-old civilian in northeastern Ukraine on Feb. 28.

“I’m sorry for what I did,” added the young man, who shaved his head. “I was nervous about that situation. I don’t want to kill“, he said, and repeated:” I want to apologize for what I have done. “

The lawyer made sure that he did not want to execute his client the command to shoot, arguing that at first he did not comply. The defense also stressed that will voluntarily surrender to Ukrainian forces and he did not deny the facts.

Also, the lawyer testified that the soldier was only trying to save his life, and denied responsibility for what he did. to their superiors.

The lawyer argued that Shishimarin had taken the order from someone of a higher rank and he would not know if that order was criminal or not, “as no one in that situation would know.”

Ovsyannikov said that the Russian soldiers they erred in belief than civilians can report to the ukrainian army about his whereabouts. He added that Shishimarin had no intention of committing a crime and he felt there was a threat to his life.

In response, the prosecutor said Shishimarin could have avoided killing a civilian; that instead of firing three or four rounds he took the man’s phone or He only fired one shot to scare her.

Life imprisonmentthe

The prosecution denied the arguments and seek life imprisonment. “He’s enforcing a criminal warrant and he knows it,” one of the prosecutors launched.

The young soldier, who spoke Russian during the hearing, was accompanied by an interpreter who translated his statements and those of the other participants into Ukrainian.

According to the accusation, Vadim Shishimarin was in command of a small unit within a tank division when his convoy was attacked. Along with four other soldiersstole a car.

They were driving near the village of Shupakhivka, in the Sumy region (northeast), when they crossed the path of a civilian pushing his bicycle while someone was talking on the phone, before Shishimarin shot him.

On Thursday, the soldier, who hails from Irkutsk (Siberia) also “apologized” to the widow, in a brief conversation in a courtroom in kyiv, saying that he acted on “command”.

The verdict will be announced on Monday, according to the judge.

With information from the AFP

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