A 21-year-old Russian soldier told a court on Friday that he did not want to kill an unarmed civilian and that he sincerely regretted it as he delivered his final words in the first ever war crimes trial involving Ukraine’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia on February 24th.
Vadim Shishimarin, a tank commander, pleaded guilty to killing Oleksandr Shelipov, a 62-year-old civilian, in Chupakhivka village in northeastern Ukraine on February 28.
“I sincerely regret it. I was nervous at the time, I didn’t want to kill… that’s how it happened,” said Shishimarin.
Shishimarin is accused of firing multiple shots with a rifle at a civilian’s head from a car, after being ordered to do so.
Defense attorney Viktor Ovsiannikov told the court that Shishimarin only fired after twice refusing to comply with the firing order and that only one of three to four shots hit the man.
He said Shishimarin fired out of fear for his own safety and questioned whether the defendant intended to kill.
“He was sitting in the window of a car… the car was moving at high speed with a flat tire,” Ovsiannikov said.
“I conclude that Shishimarin fired random shots and did not intend to kill the civilian, and that he carried out the order not with the aim of killing the person, but formally, with the hope that [os projéteis] not reach,” he said.
Prosecutor Andriy Synyuk said the arguments did not change the essence of the case.
“The court will review all the evidence and announce its decision. The defense arguments in no way refute what we have given and do not refute … Shishimarin’s own guilt,” the prosecutor said.
The judge can deliver a verdict on Monday (23), when the court reconvenes. The prosecutor asked for life in prison.
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