UKRAINE’S FIRST WAR CRIMES TRIAL TO BE HELD IN KYIV

Wed 18 May 2022:

On Wednesday, the first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier since the invasion begins will begin in Kyiv. Since the invasion began, Russian forces have been accused of committing several war crimes, and the case of Vadim Shishimarin, 21, will be the first attempt to pursue the alleged violations. Shishimarin, a soldier from the Siberian city of Irkutsk, is accused of shooting an unarmed civilian and faces a life sentence if convicted.

Prosecutors said Shishimarin was commanding a unit in a tank division when his convoy came under attack. He and four other soldiers stole a car and were travelling through the Sumy region when they encountered a 62-year-old man on a bicycle. Ordered by one of his companions to kill the cyclist, Shishimarin fired a Kalashnikov assault rifle from the window of the vehicle and “the man died instantly, a few dozen metres from his home”, the statement said.

The trial, expected to be followed by several others, will test the Ukrainian justice system at a time when international institutions are also conducting their own investigations into alleged war crimes.

The International Criminal Court said Tuesday it was deploying its largest-ever field team to Ukraine, with 42 investigators, forensic experts and support staff being sent into the field to gather evidence of alleged atrocities. The US State Department also announced it was creating a special unit to research, document and publicise Russian war crimes.

The Conflict Observatory will “capture, analyse, and make widely available evidence of Russia-perpetrated war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine,” the department said Tuesday.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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