The first Russian service member to stand trial for the murder of a civilian Ukrainian has pleaded guilty in court

Vadim Shishimarin, the first Russian service member to stand trial for the murder of a civilian Ukrainian, has pleaded guilty in court. The trial is ongoing, reports Graty, Ukrainian media specializing in court reporting.

Graty reporters say once the prosecutor read the indictment, the service member confirmed that he fully admits his guilt and does not refuse to testify. After a short break, the judges announced that the court session would be postponed to 12:00 a.m local time on May 19, explaining it is important for the next stage of the hearing to interrogate the accused.

Solomianskyi District Court of Kyiv is considering the case of 21-year-old Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, a Russian serviceman and commander of the 4th Kantemirov Tank Division of Moscow Oblast, who is accused of killing 62-year-old civilian Oleksandr Shelipov in Sumy Oblast. The prosecutor's office charged Shishimarin under Part 2 of Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder. Now, Shishimarin faces sentences between 10 years and life imprisonment.

Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova said Vadim Shishimarin is the first Russian serviceman to stand trial for killing a civilian in Ukraine.

"The court has a difficult task to consider the first case in the history of Ukraine against a serviceman of another country who killed a civilian in Ukraine. The prosecution is ready to prove Shishimarin's guilt. We will call witnesses to court, present protocols of investigative actions and other evidence," Graty quoted the prosecutor Andriy Siniuk.

The investigation established that on February 28, 2022, a 21-year-old Russian serviceman killed an unarmed resident of the village of Chupakhivka (Sumy Oblast), who was riding a bicycle along the roadside.

Prior to that, the column where was Sergeant Shishimarin was defeated by Ukrainian Armed Forces. While fleeing, he and 4 other Russian service members fired at a private car, seized it, and drove into the village in a stolen car.

According to the investigation, on the way, they saw a man returning home and talking on the phone. One of the service members ordered the sergeant to kill a civilian so that he would not report them to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 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.