Ukraine began on Wednesday the first trial of a Russian soldier for allegedly committing war crimes since the Russian invasion on February 24. Although the preliminary hearing took place on Friday, today is the first session of the trial as such and the accused, Vadim Shishimarin, pleaded guilty to having killed an unarmed civilian. The 21-year-old Sergeant Shishimarin faces between 10 and 15 years in prison or a life sentence if he is convicted of the charges against him: violation of the laws of war, in combination with premeditated murder.
Looking the same as he appeared in court a few days ago - gray hoodie and shaved head - and stuffed into a glass cubicle; The soldier from Irkutsk, Siberia, said a simple "yes" when asked by the judge if he recognized the facts "without reservations" with which he is accused: having killed a 62-year-old man with his AK-47 machine gun on 28 February in northeastern Ukraine.
According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor's Office, Sergeant Shishimarin was in command of a small unit within a tank division when his convoy was attacked. In fleeing from him, he stole a car with four other soldiers.
While driving near the village of Choupakhivka, in the Sumi region (northeast), they came across a 62-year-old man who was pushing his bicycle while talking on the phone. "One of the soldiers ordered the accused to kill the civilian so that he would not denounce them," according to the Ukrainian justice, which specifies that the man "died on the spot", a few dozen meters from his home.
In early May, the Ukrainian authorities announced his arrest without giving details, while publishing a video in which Shishimarin said that he had come to fight in Ukraine to "financially support his mother". And where she confessed to the crime.
4
