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A Ukrainian tribunal is set to begin its first war crimes trial since Russian forces invaded the country in late February. A Russian soldier accused of killing an unarmed 62-year-old civilian will appear Wednesday in Kiev on charges of war crimes and premeditated murder. He faces a life sentence. Follow FRANCE 24’s liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
7am: First war crimes trial to be held in Kyiv
The first war crimes trial of a Russian soldier since the invasion began is set to get under way in Kyiv on Wednesday. Russian forces have been accused of committing a multitude of war crimes since the invasion began. On Wednesday. a 21-year-old soldier will go on trial in Kyiv in the first attempt to prosecute the alleged abuses. Vadim Shishimarin, from Irkutsk in Siberia, is accused of shooting an unarmed civilian and faces a possible life sentence.
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…
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Source : france24
