"He obeyed an order": lawyer asks to pardon Russian soldier who killed Ukrainian civilian

The lawyer asks to acquit Vadim Shishimarin, a Russian serviceman who killed a civilian man in the Sumy region. During the court hearing in Kyiv, he argued that the occupier carried out an order, the broadcast aired by UA:PBC showed.

Lawyer Viktor Ovsyannikov believes that Shishimarin, under duress, carried out the order of another soldier, named Kufakov, whom he considered senior in rank. According to him, the detainee was shouted at and threatened.

The lawyer also concludes that his client did not conduct aimed fire, and therefore did not intend to kill the civilian. "He carried out the order, albeit a criminal order. And he killed a civilian," Ovsyannikov stated.

The lawyer asks to take into account the fact that the Russian serviceman was raised in a large family, as well as the fact that he surrendered voluntarily and "did no more harm."

"I believe that Shishimarin is innocent of committing the crime he is accused of," the lawyer said, asking to acquit the Russian fighter.

In his last words, Shishimarin apologized for what he had done. According to him, he was very nervous when he shot at a civilian man and did not want to kill him, but "it happened."

"I regret it. I sincerely repent. I do not refuse and I am ready to accept all the measures that will be taken," said the Russian.

The prosecutor's office is requesting life imprisonment for Shishimarin. The court will announce the verdict in the case on May 23.

Background

21-year-old Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin is the commander of the 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division of the Moscow Region. He is accused of killing a civilian in the Sumy region, 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov.

According to the investigation, on February 28, 2022, Shishimarin killed Shelipov in the village of Chupakhivka, Sumy region. The deceased was riding a bicycle along the roadside.

Prior to that, the column, which included Shishimarin, was defeated by the Ukrainian army. While fleeing, he and four other occupiers fired at a private car and seized it. The Russian military drove into the village in a stolen car with punctured wheels.

According to the investigation, on the way they saw a man returning home and talking on the phone. One of the servicemen ordered the sergeant to kill a civilian so that he would not report them to the Armed Forces. He fired several shots through the open window of a car from a Kalashnikov assault rifle into the head of a 62-year-old victim. The man died on the spot just a few dozen meters from his home.

Shishimarin admitted his guilt. The wife of the deceased civilian said she was expecting life imprisonment, but did not mind exchanging the accused for defenders of Mariupol.