Status: 05/23/2022 1:24 p.m
A Russian soldier has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Ukraine’s first war crimes trial. He had confessed to shooting an unarmed civilian. His lawyer plans to appeal.
A Russian soldier has been sentenced to life imprisonment in Ukraine’s first war crimes trial. The court in Kyiv found it proven that the 21-year-old tanker shot dead a 62-year-old civilian in the Sumy region. It was the first trial over Russian atrocities in Ukraine.
According to the court, the crime happened on February 28 in the village of Chupakhivka, which is about 60 kilometers southwest of the city of Sumy. According to Ukrainian investigators, the soldier’s Russian convoy had previously been attacked and repulsed.
The 21-year-old man from Siberia had confessed to the crime. A superior ordered him to shoot the Ukrainian because he was talking on his mobile phone. The superior said he could pass on the positions of the Russian soldiers to Ukrainian troops. He then shot him in the head, the soldier explained.
Soldier asked widow for forgiveness
In court he had asked the victim’s widow for forgiveness. In his closing remarks he said: “I regret it. I regret it very much. I did not refuse and I am ready to accept any measures that will be imposed.”
The verdict is not yet final – the defendant’s lawyer says he wants to appeal against it. He had asked for an acquittal because the soldier had carried out an order and argued that he was unprepared for the “violent military confrontation” and mass casualties suffered by the Russian army.
Convict could be exchanged
Shortly before the verdict was announced, the Kremlin said Moscow was looking for ways to help the accused. “Of course, we are concerned about the fate of our fellow citizens,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Interfax news agency.
It is considered possible that the man will be exchanged for Ukrainian prisoners in Russia. Like Ukraine, Russia has taken many soldiers captive.