Russian soldier charged with war crimes

The first war crime trial will be held in Kyiv since Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, while the Kremlin chastised Finland for joining Nato and Sweden for considering doing so.

When a Russian soldier appears in court on Friday, he will be charged with murdering a 62-year-old civilian, marking a watershed moment in the conflict, with the number of crimes registered by Ukraine’s general prosecutor surpassing 11,000 and Unicef reporting that at least 100 children had been killed in April alone.

Vadim Shysimarin, a 21-year-old commander of the Kantemirovskaya tank division who is presently in Ukrainian captivity, will appear in Kyiv’s district court.

Shysimarin, a sergeant, is accused of killing a civilian on February 28 in the hamlet of Chupakhivka while fighting in the Sumy area of north-east Ukraine.
After his convoy of military vehicles was attacked by Ukrainian forces, he is accused of firing at a civilian automobile. He then fled Ukrainian fighters by driving the car away with four other soldiers.

According to authorities, Shysimarin was told “to murder a civilian so he would not denounce them to Ukrainian defenders” after shooting the unarmed guy who was riding a bicycle and chatting on his phone.

The incident occurred “dozens of metres” from the victim’s home and was carried out with an AK-74 rifle.

The case was filed in a criminal court this week. On Tuesday, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, announced from her strongly secured headquarters in Kyiv, “He is here [in Ukraine], we have him.”

“Prosecutors and investigators of the SBU [Ukrainian secret services] have collected adequate evidence of his involvement in violation of the rules and customs of war mixed with deliberate murder,” a prosecutor’s office spokeswoman stated. He risks 10 to 15 years in jail or life in prison for his acts.”

Two other cases, including the in absentia trial of Mikhail Romanov, a Russian soldier accused of rape and murder, are expected to be heard in court within days.

With Finland’s desire to seek for Nato membership and the anticipation that Sweden would follow, the trial is another propaganda victory for Kyiv and another diplomatic step raising pressure on Vladimir Putin.