A Ukrainian court has sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for killing an unarmed civilian in the first war crimes trial arising from Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, pleaded guilty to killing the 62-year-old man in the northeastern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on February 28 after being ordered to shoot at him from a car.
Judge Serhiy Agafonov said Shishimarin, carrying out a “criminal order” by a soldier of higher rank, had fired several shots at the victim’s head from an automatic weapon.
The young soldier, wearing a blue and grey hooded sweatshirt, watched proceedings silently from a reinforced glass box in the courtroom and showed no emotion as the verdict was read out.
Ukrainian state prosecutors had alleged Shishimarin and four other Russian servicemen fired at and stole a car to escape after being targeted by Ukrainian soldiers.
They drove the village where they saw the man riding a bike and talking on his phone. Prosecutors said Shishimarin was ordered to kill the man to prevent him reporting on the Russian presence in the city.
He fired several shots through the open car window and the man died on the spot.
During the trial, Shishimarin asked the widow of the victim to forgive him.
Shishimarin’s defense attorney Victor Ovsyanikov argued that his client, a member of a Russian tank unit who was eventually captured, had been unprepared for the “violent military confrontation” and mass casualties that Russian troops encountered when they first invaded Ukraine.
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As the trial opened, the head of the Centre for Civil Liberties in Ukraine, Oleksandra Matviichuk, told i “we need justice, not revenge”. She said the case would be critical trial will “show the capacity of the Ukrainian national system to investigate and deliver justice”.
“This trial has a symbolical meaning because it shows that sooner or later justice will prevail and that the law still has importance. It provides the hope that when the war finishes, we will rebuild the role of law in our country,” the human rights lawyer said.
The trial has huge symbolic significance for Ukraine, which has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality against civilians during the invasion and said it has identified more than 10,000 possible war crimes.
Russia has denied targeting civilians or involvement in war crimes.
The Kremlin did not immediately comment on the verdict. It has previously said that it has no information about the trial and that the absence of a diplomatic mission in Ukraine limits its ability to provide assistance.