Sgt. Vadim Shishimarin
Highlights
- A Ukrainian court on Monday sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison.
- He was sentenced for killing a Ukrainian, in the first war crimes trial.
- He pleaded guilty and testified that he shot the man after being ordered to do so.
Ukraine war crimes: A Ukrainian court on Monday sentenced a 21-year-old Russian soldier to life in prison on Monday for killing a Ukrainian, in the first war crimes trial.
Sgt. Vadim Shyshimarin, 21, is accused of shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian man in the head in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka. The killing occurred in the early days of the war, when Russian tanks advancing on Kyiv were unexpectedly routed and tank crew retreated.
He pleaded guilty and testified that he shot the man after being ordered to do so. He told the court that an officer insisted that the Ukrainian man, who was speaking on his cellphone, could pinpoint their location to the Ukrainian forces.
Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating thousands of potential war crimes, as the world has pushed for Russia to be held accountable for its invasion. Russian forces bombed a theater where civilians were sheltering and struck a maternity hospital. In the wake of Moscow's withdrawal from towns around Kyiv weeks ago, mass graves were discovered and streets were strewn with bodies in towns such as Bucha.
The war's effects have also been felt well beyond Ukraine, pushing energy and food prices higher. The United Nations said the conflict has helped push the number of people displaced worldwide to the highest level on record level, with more 100 million people driven from their homes across the globe.
Read More | Ukraine war-crime trial: Russian soldier asks victim's widow to forgive him
(agencies inputs)
