A three-judge panel in a court in the Ukrainian capital found that Russian tank-unit sergeant Vadim Shishmarin had a premeditated murder when he shot and killed a civilian, Oleksandr Shelyapov, in the Ukrainian village of Chukhivka. He was also ordered to pay the cost of the trial.
Sergeant Shishimarin, who is 21, admitted in court to fatally shooting Mr Shelipov, but said during the trial he did not pull the trigger with intent to kill. He was also convicted of violating the international laws of war.
Announcing the verdict, Judge Serhi Agafonof said, “The accused complied with the order and fired several shots and killed a civilian.” “Shishimarin violated the laws and customs of war provided for by the Geneva Conventions.”
Sergeant’s test. Shishmarin offered a first glimpse of how Ukraine would get justice during the war with Russia and provided a model that prosecutors would hope to follow in future cases.
Under Ukraine law, a person convicted of murder is not always eligible for life imprisonment. The case was meritorious because it took place in the context of wartime. The prosecutors’ decision to impose a life sentence is a sign of their intent to pursue war-crime cases firmly.
Officials here say they are investigating more than 10,700 possible war crimes involving more than 600 suspects. However, some of these suspects are in Ukrainian custody.
Russia has denied targeting civilians.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was concerned about the fate of the troops, but said Russia has little recourse at the moment in such matters.
Mr. Peskov said of Sergeant Shishmarin, “we have no possibility to protect his interests on the ground. This does not mean that we will not try through different channels.”
Sergeant Shishimarin’s case moved swiftly through the court, with only 10 days between his initial appearance and the verdict.
Some human rights groups have pointed to the speed at which the case proceeded as a reason to question whether it was able to obtain a fair defence.
As soon as the verdict was read, Sgt. As soon as the judge listened, Shishimarin stood silently in the defendant’s compartment.
Judge Agafonoff said he did not believe Sgt. Shishimarin’s testimony that he did not intend to kill Mr. Shelipov. He also said that, since none of the other soldiers asking him to shoot him was his commanding officer, he could have disobeyed the order.
“The order was illegal,” said Judge Agafonoff. “Realizing that this order was clearly criminal, Shishmarin could refuse to comply … he had the opportunity to get out of the car, or shoot nearby” and avoid killing Mr. Shelyapov.
Sergeant Shishimarin’s lawyer said he would appeal.
“The judge did not take into account some important aspects of the case,” said Viktor Ovsyannikov, the defense lawyer for Sergeant Shishmarin, after the verdict was announced. “I still think he didn’t intend to commit civilian murder. I think the evidence and witnesses confirmed it, but the judges didn’t think so.”
The case’s chief prosecutor Andrey Sinyuk had argued for a life sentence for Sgt. Shishimarin, and said that the verdict was just.
Mr. Sinyuk said, “The punishment in the Shishimarin case is absolutely legal and just. He committed a crime and killed a civilian who did not provoke the soldiers and did not pose a threat to them.”
He also dismissed concerns from some human rights groups that Mr Shishimrin was not given a chance to defend himself.
Mr Sinyuk acknowledged the trial was “very rapid”, but said “defendants never appealed that they were time-barred.”
Last month, Ukrainian prosecutors filed criminal charges against 10 Russian soldiers for holding hostage and abusing civilians in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha. The prosecutor general said earlier this month that around 40 suspects had been identified, but only a few were in custody.
Mr Shelipov’s widow, Katerina Shelipova, also said before the sentencing that she expected a life sentence, but would accept if Mr Shishmarin was returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange.
Sergeant Shishimarin spent the proceedings in a fiberglass defendant’s box, where he often whispered with an interpreter. She said little in her defense, other than to offer that she did not shoot with intent to kill, and apologized to Ms Shelipova on Thursday.
“I confess to guilt,” said Sergeant Shishimarin. “I understand you can’t forgive me. But I’m sorry.”
Meanwhile, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Monday, stating the extent of his country’s damage, saying last year Russian airstrikes killed 87 people in the village of Desna in the Chernihiv region. . Week.
On Sunday, Mr Zelensky said during a news conference that up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers could be killed every day on the front lines in the country’s east, where Russia re-focused its forces after failing to take Kyiv in the early days. has done. war. The Ukrainian leader said that as of April 16, between 2,500 and 3,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been wounded by more than 10,000.
Speaking to the WEF by videolink on Monday, Mr Zelensky said the world’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine will determine whether other major powers seek to gain advantage through aggression, and a complete ban on Russian oil and Called for further sanctions, including stronger measures. To disconnect all Russian banks from the global financial system.
“This is the moment when it is decided whether brute force will rule the world,” Mr. Zelensky said, “if the aggressors lose everything, the countries will lose the motivation to start a war.”