Russia-Ukraine war: Kyiv sentences first Russian soldier charged with “war crimes” to life imprisonment

A court in Ukraine sentenced life sentence for Vadim Shishimarin, the first Russian soldier prosecuted for war crimescharged with the murder of an unarmed civilian cycling in the Sumy region in the north of the country.

Shishimarin, 21, pleaded guilty at the opening of his trial last week. According to the defendant, the perpetrator shot the victim who was talking on the phone. The death occurred on February 28.four days after the start of the Russian invasion.

The Solomianski District Court in kyiv found the defendant guilty under article 438 of the Ukrainian Criminal Code, in connection with the ill -treatment or death of prisoners of war or civilians.

It also considers that the soldier has been acquired intentional killing and applied the maximum penalty provided for this charge, while life imprisonment.

The lawyer requested free acquittal for his client and alleged a series of derogatory events due to circumstances of armed intervention. He assured his client acted under command, although he admitted that they indicated the commission of a “crime”.

How to kill a civilian

According to his account of the incident, the soldier shot a civilian after receiving an order to do so, and under threats, from a superior. The prosecution, for its part, argued that the soldier acted fully aware of his actions and demanded the maximum punishment for him.

The soldier, the commander of unit 32010 of the fourth armored division of the Kantemirovskaya Guards of the Moscow region, offered a full statement at the trial of what happened, including how he shot his victim, a 62-year-old. old man.

The prosecution argued in its indictment that the defendant killed an unarmed man riding a bicycle on the road in the town of Chupajivka.

After the Ukrainian Army attack, the column which included the commander was disbanded and the defendant, accompanied by four other soldiers, he fled in a seized civilian vehicle.

Arriving in Chupajivka, they met the victim, who was talking on the phone, and Shishimarin shot him with a machine gun in the head to prevent them from giving up. to Ukrainian troops, according to the prosecution.

The commander was captured by kyiv forces, and on May 4 the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) released a video in which he admitted shooting a civilian.

“I’m sorry. I’m very sorry. I did not refuse to obey orders and I am ready to accept the punishment that will be imposed on me“, the soldier declared during the trial.

He also said he initially refused to shoot the civilian, but ended up obeying the order. The group, made up of five soldiers, feared the civilian would give up his position over the phone.

Russia is looking for options to help the convicted soldier

The Kremlin has now assured that it will look for options to help Shishimarin, spokesman Dmitri Peskov said.

“Of course, we care about the fate of our people“, said the spokesman of the Russian Presidency at the daily press conference over the phone, shortly before hearing the decision of the Ukrainian court against Vadim Shishimarin, the first Russian soldier prosecuted in Ukraine for war crimes .

Peskov said that, unfortunately, Moscow has almost no chance to protect the interests of this soldier in Ukraine, because there are no Russian diplomatic missions in that country.

“But that doesn’t mean we won’t consider testing on other channels,” he said. “The fate of every citizen of Russia is most important to us,” he stressed.