Russian soldier pleads responsible in struggle crimes trial in Ukraine By Reuters

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -A Russian soldier accused of struggle crimes in Ukraine pleaded responsible on Wednesday to killing an aged unarmed civilian.

Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old Russian tank commander, entered his plea in a Kyiv district court docket listening to its first struggle crimes trial in opposition to a Russian soldier who took half in Moscow’s Feb. 24 invasion.

In a trial that has large symbolic significance for Kyiv, Shishimarin is charged with murdering a 62-year-old civilian within the northeast Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka on Feb. 28. If convicted, he faces as much as life imprisonment.

Ukraine has accused Russia of atrocities and brutality in opposition to civilians in the course of the invasion and mentioned it has recognized greater than 10,000 doable struggle crimes.

Russia has denied focusing on civilians or involvement in struggle crimes and accused Kyiv of staging them to smear its forces.

Requested concerning the trial, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov advised Reuters: “As earlier than, there isn’t any info (concerning the trial) and the flexibility (of Russia) to offer help can be restricted as a result of absence of our diplomatic mission.”

Requested extra broadly about struggle crimes allegations in opposition to Russian forces in Ukraine, Peskov mentioned: “We take into account it unattainable and unacceptable to throw such phrases round. Lots of the circumstances that Ukraine is speaking about are apparent fakes, and probably the most egregious ones are staged, as has been convincingly proved by our consultants.”

After guards led Shishimarin into the court docket in handcuffs, he was requested by the decide if he accepted the cost in opposition to him. He confirmed that he did.

Ukrainian state prosecutors have mentioned Shishimarin and 4 different Russian servicemen fired at and stole a privately owned automotive to flee after their column was focused by Ukrainian forces.

The Russian troopers drove into the village of Chupakhivka the place they noticed an unarmed resident using a bicycle and speaking on his telephone, they mentioned.

They mentioned Shishimarin was ordered by one other serviceman to kill the civilian to forestall him reporting on the Russians’ presence and fired a number of pictures by the open window of the automotive with an assault rifle on the civilian’s head. The civilian died on the spot.