May 11, 2022 - World

Ukraine announces first war crimes trial, for Russian soldier in custody

Ivana Saric

Two men pushing bicycles and a woman walk past the buildings destroyed as a result of Russian shelling — Residents walk past buildings destroyed by Russian shelling in the city of Trostianets in Ukraine's northeast Sumy region. Photo: Anna Voitenko/ Ukrinform/Future Publishing via Getty Images

A soldier accused of killing a civilian will be the first Russian service member to stand trial on war crimes charges since the start of the war, the office of Ukraine's prosecutor general announced Wednesday.

The big picture: Last week, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova told the U.S. Helsinki Commission that Russia had committed nearly 10,000 war crimes over the course of the war.

State of play: A pre-trial investigation by the Security Service of Ukraine established that the soldier fired several shots at an unarmed 62-year-old resident riding a bicycle by the roadside in a village in Ukraine's northeast Sumy region on Feb. 28.

"The man died on the spot just a few dozen meters from his own home," the press release stated.
The soldier, 21-year-old Vadim Shishimarin, per the Washington Post, is in custody in Ukraine.

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Ukraine announces first war crimes trial, for Russian soldier in custody

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