FIRST OF ITS KIND

Ukraine to Hold First War Crimes Trial Against a Russian Soldier

Ukrainian prosecutors say they will begin their first war crimes trial against a 21-year-old soldier.

Ukraine will proceed with its first war crimes trial against a captured Russian soldier, the country’s top prosecutor announced. While the trial date is not yet set, Ukrainian prosecutors have charged Sgt. Vadin Shyshimarin, a 21-year-old soldier in a Russian tank unit, with the murder of an unarmed 62-year-old man as he was riding his bike through the northeastern village of Chupakhivka. Lawyers allege that Shyshimarin, who is currently in Ukraine, shot the man through the window of a stolen vehicle, a crime for which could face life in prison. Volodymyr Yavorskyy, coordinator at the Ukrainian human rights group Center for Civil Liberties, told the AP that he will be watching the trial to see whether it is fair, noting, “It’s very difficult to observe all the rules, norms, and neutrality of the court proceedings in wartime.”