Ukraine Opens Its First War Crimes Trial Of Captured Russian Soldier

Ukraine's top prosecutor general office announced plans on Wednesday regarding the first war crimes trial of a captured Russian soldier accused of killing a civilian.

Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said her office charged 21-year-old Sgt. Vadin Shyshimarin in the killing of an unarmed 62-year-old civilian who was gunned down while riding a bicycle in February. As Russia continued its invasion of Ukraine, Venediktova's office was confirmed to be investigating more than 10,700 alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces; they identified over 600 suspects. Many cases are ready to be submitted, while others have already been filed.

Shyshimarin served with a tank unit; he is commander of the Kantemirovskaya Tank Division who is currently in Ukrainian custody. He is expected to be the first to face trial over his alleged murder of a civilian, accused of firing through a car window on the man in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka.

According to Venediktova, the soldier could get up to 15 years in prison. A spokesperson added, "Prosecutors and investigators of the SBU [Ukrainian secret services] have collected enough evidence of his involvement in violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder. For these actions, he faces 10 to 15 years in prison or life in prison." The trial schedule has not been revealed.

The investigation found that Shysimarin and four other colleagues fired at and seized a private car, which they used to drive into the village. They saw a man talking on a phone while walking his bicycle along the sidewalk. Venediktova said that one of the other soldiers ordered Shysimarin to kill the civilian on Feb. 28 "so he would not report them to Ukrainian defenders."

The crime reportedly happened close to the victim's house and was committed using an AK-74. "He is here [in Ukraine], we have him," said Venediktova, speaking from her headquarters in Kyiv. "The man died on the spot just a few dozens of meters from his house," she added.

Meanwhile, in March, another soldier named Mikhail Romanov was accused of breaking into a house in a village in the Brovarsky region, murdering a man and then repeatedly raping his wife while "threatening her and her underage child with violence and weapons." A second soldier also raped the 33-year-old woman, who has a four-year-old son.