First Russian serviceman to face trial for murdering a civilian, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General says
In a statement posted on her Facebook page on May 11, Venediktova said an indictment had been sent to court against Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, of unit 32010 of the 4th Tank Division of Moscow region.
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According to the investigation, on Feb. 28, a 21-year-old occupier killed an unarmed resident of the village of Chupakhivka, Sumy Oblast, who was riding a bicycle along the roadside.
Before that, the column, which included Sergeant Shishimarin, had been defeated in combat with a Ukrainian unit.
While fleeing, the Russian invader and his four colleagues fired at a private car with machine guns and seized it.
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The invaders drove to the village in the stolen car, which had punctured tires. On the way they saw a man returning home and talking on the phone. One of the soldiers ordered the sergeant to kill a civilian so that he would not report them to Ukrainian defenders.
“He (Shishimarin ) fired several shots through the open window of a car from a Kalashnikov at the head of a 62-year-old victim. The man died on the spot just a few tens of meters from his house," Venediktova said.
The suspect Shishimarin is currently in custody. Prosecutors and SBU investigators have gathered enough evidence of his involvement in violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).
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He faces between 10 and 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24. May 11 is the 77th day of the full-scale Russian invasion.
Shishmarin is the first Russian soldier to be on trial for murdering a civilian. Russian invaders have committed numerous crimes against civilians in Bucha, Borodyanka, and many other Ukrainian towns and villages they occupied.
