Ukraine announces first war crimes trial with 21-year-old Russian accused of using an automatic weapon to kill 62-year-old from a car window
- Vadim Shishimarin allegedly killed an unarmed civilian with a Kalashnikov rifle
- He wound down the window and shot the man metres from his home in Sumy
- The 21-year-old service member could face life in prison if found guilty
PUBLISHED: 22:18 AEST, 12 May 2022 | UPDATED: 22:18 AEST, 12 May 2022
Ukraine is set to hold its first war crimes trial since Russia's barbaric invasion, for a 21-year-old service member accused of gunning down an unarmed 62-year-old from a car window.
Vadim Shishimarin faces life in prison for allegedly killing the civilian with a Kalashnikov rifle as he fled with four other soldiers in a stolen car in a village in Sumy on February 28, just days after the start of the war.
The man was pushing a bicycle by the side of the road when he was shot in the head and 'died on the spot a few dozen metres from his home', the Ukrainian prosecutor general said.
Ukraine is set to hold its first war crimes trial since Russia's barbaric invasion, for Vadim Shishimarin, 21
Iryna Venediktova (pictured in Bucha on Tuesday), the prosecutor general, is launching her first war crimes case since the invasion
Investigators have collected evidence of his involvement, finding him 'in violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder'.
If sentenced, he faces 10 to 15 years or life in prison.
Iryna Venediktova, the prosecutor general, said: 'Shishimarin is actually physically in Ukraine. We are starting a trial not in absentia but rather directly with the person who killed a civilian, and this is a war crime.'
Ukrainian video blogger Volodymyr Zolkin appeared to interview Shishimarin in a YouTube video posted on March 19, according to the Washington Post.
In the clip, the alleged killer said his unit was told they would be taking part in military exercises in southwestern Russia 200 miles from Ukraine in January.
Buildings are reduced to rubble in Mariupol where Russia is accused of targeting civilians in the port city
The town of Bucha in the outskirts of Kyiv revealed a scene of horrors after it was recaptured by Ukraine, with mutilated civilian corpses lining the streets
He was later captured when his column was surrounded while they tried to return wounded soldiers to Russia.
The footage then shows Shishimarin calling his father, saying: 'They treat us well here.'
The father then tells Zolkin: 'He is just a soldier. I don't think he knew where he was going. You say he invaded, and we are told that they were defending the country. He didn't know. He was told to. You hear one thing and we another.'
The clip ends with Shishimarin urging fellow Russians to not join the war effort and protest instead.
Kyiv has repeatedly accused Russian troops of committing atrocities since the invasion began on February 24.
Russian shelling has targeted schools and hospitals, with thousands of civilians feared killed in the brutal campaign.
There are also allegations of mass rape, torture and execution being carried out by Putin's forces.
Nina, 66, gestures as she shows her destroyed house in Pidhaine, Ukraine, with many residential buildings hit by shelling
The town of Bucha in the outskirts of Kyiv revealed a scene of horrors after it was recaptured by Ukraine, with mutilated civilian corpses lining the streets.
Venediktova's office has said it has received reports of more than 10,000 alleged war crimes, with 622 suspects identified.
The Russian invasion has sparked an exodus of nearly six million civilians, many of whom bear accounts of torture, sexual violence and indiscriminate destruction.
The UN Human Rights Council is due to hold a special session on Ukraine on Thursday.
Moscow has focused on eastern and southern Ukraine since it failed to take Kyiv in the first weeks of its campaign.
Ukraine's forces were boosted by what Kyiv described as the recapture of four villages around the northeastern city of Kharkiv, close to the border with Russia.
In the Russian city of Belgorod, around 43 miles from Kharkiv, authorities said one person was killed and six injured by Ukrainian shelling.
Belgorod governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said it was 'the most difficult situation' facing the border region since Russia sent its troops into Ukraine 11 weeks ago.
Authorities in Russian regions bordering Ukraine have repeatedly accused Ukrainian forces of launching attacks.
In April, Gladkov said Ukrainian helicopters carried out a strike on a fuel storage facility in Belgorod.
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Ukraine announces first war crimes trial for Russian accused of killing 62-year-old with Kalashnikov
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