First war crime sentencing in Ukraine war; Russian soldier gets lifer for killing civilian

The trial of Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, was the first war crimes prosecution since Russia invaded Ukraine.

A Ukrainian court sentenced a Russian soldier to life imprisonment on Monday for murdering an unarmed 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian, marking the completion of the first war crimes trial following Moscow's February 24 invasion of the East European country.

While delivering the sentence, Judge Serhiy Agafonov stated that the 21-year-old, Vadim Shishimarin, a Russian tank commander, carried out a 'criminal order' from a higher-ranking soldier by firing numerous shots with an automatic weapon at the victim's head. 

Shishimarin, whose trial began on May 13, pled guilty last Wednesday to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov on February 28 in the town of Chupakhiva in northeastern Ukraine.

Ukrainian prosecutors asked Judge Agafonov to sentence the young Russian soldier to life in prison on May 19, just a day after he pleaded guilty to the murder.

While in the trial, Shishimarin stated that he executed the victim on the orders of an officer who insisted the man could inform Ukrainian forces about the duo's location.

The trial of Vadim Shishimarin, a 21-year-old tank commander, was the first war crimes prosecution since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24.

Throughout the continuing invasion, Russia has been accused of committing war crimes, which the Kremlin has denied repeatedly. Bucha has made the most severe claims of war crimes against Russian forces; on the other hand, Moscow has denied the allegations and instead blamed Kyiv for a "false flag" operation.