In the earliest days of the war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine, Russian soldiers were accused of killing civilians in the streets, a war crime if found to be true. On Wednesday, reports confirmed that the first Russian soldier accused of committing the war crime of shooting civilians will go to trial.
"Ukraine’s prosecutor general announced that a 21-year-old Russian soldier in custody will be the first to stand trial for an alleged war crime during Russia’s invasion." He "is accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian by the side of a road." https://t.co/pKWsAOyyPB
— Kenneth Roth (@KenRoth) May 11, 2022
Reports from Ukraine stated that Vadim Shyshymarin of the 4th Guards (Kantemir) Division of Moscow Region will stand trial for shooting and killing a 62-year-old civilian on Feb. 28, 2022 after the man witnesses Shyshymarin and his friends commit another crime.
According to the Kyiv Post:
‘After the Armed Forces of Ukraine destroyed sergeant Shyshymarin’s convoy he, together with four other servicemen, fled the scene, fired at a car, and hijacked it. They then drove into a village in the vehicle with its tires punctured by themselves.’
— d35pmartin (@d35pmartin) May 11, 2022
The unfortunate civilian was in the way of Shyshymarin as he tried to escape without anyone noticing. One of the soldiers in his group proposed a solution to the eyewitness problem and Shyshymarin was quick to take it.
‘On their way, they saw a man who was on his phone while walking home. One of the soldiers ordered the sergeant to kill the civilian so that he would not report them to Ukrainian troops. Using a Kalashnikov, he shot the 62-year-old man in the head from an open window. The man died just tens of meters away from his own house.’
Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian soldier who is in Ukrainian custody, will stand trial for allegedly killing an unarmed 62-year-old resident in a village in the Sumy region of northeastern Ukraine. https://t.co/KMur1QVhCg
— Yahoo News (@YahooNews) May 11, 2022
The crime is not the first reported by the Ukrainian media and military officials. Photos of bodies in roadside trenches, bodies with their hands tied behind their backs, bodies that could only belong to civilians, have proven that these crimes are ongoing.
‘The scale of atrocities committed by the Russian army in the country is still to be assessed, as cases of rape, murder, torture, and mass burials mount around the country. Many world leaders have already visited the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Borodyanka in Kyiv Region, including Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and top EU officials, denouncing the crimes and destruction carried out by Russian occupiers.’
⚡️The first Russian service member will stand trial for killing a civilian in the #Sumy region – he faces life imprisonment
The prosecutor's office has filed an indictment of the tank division commander of the Moscow region, Vadim ShyshymarinSource: https://t.co/9olXyLNOik
— Now in Ukraine (@Now_in_Ukraine) May 11, 2022
