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| Shishimarin, wearing a blue and grey hooded sweatshirt, watched proceedings silently from a reinforced glass box in the courtroom and showed no emotion as the verdict was read out. (Photo by= Reuters) |
[Asia News = Reporter Reakkana] A court in Ukraine has jailed a Russian tank commander for life for killing a civilian at the first war crimes trial since the invasion. Captured soldier Sgt Vadim Shishimarin was convicted of killing Oleksandr Shelipov, 62, in the northeastern village of Chupakhivka on 28 February, BBC reported.
He admitted to shooting Mr. Shelipov but said he had been acting on orders and asked forgiveness of the man's widow. Many other alleged war crimes are being investigated by Ukraine. Moscow has denied its troops targeted civilians during the invasion, despite a wealth of evidence to the contrary, while Ukraine says more than 11,000 crimes may have occurred. Moscow said earlier on Monday that it was concerned about the fate of the Russian soldier and would look at options to defend him. Imposing the life sentence, Judge Serhiy Agafonov said Shishimarin had carried out a "criminal order" by a soldier of higher rank. His lawyer said an appeal would be lodged against the verdict. Shishimarin, 21, served in Russia's prestigious Kantemirovskaya tank division.
Since President Putin sent Russian troops into Ukraine on 24 February, at least 3,838 civilians have been killed and 4,351 injured, according to the UN. Among the dead are numerous suspected victims of war crimes in occupied towns such as Bucha.
