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The first Russian soldier on trial in Ukraine for war crimes during Moscow’s invasion pleaded guilty on Wednesday, facing possible life imprisonment in Kyiv.
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Asked in court if he was guilty of the allegations, including war crimes and premeditated murder, 21-year-old sergeant Vadim Shishimarin responded “yes”.
He is accused of killing a 62-year-old civilian in northeast Ukraine in the first days of the Kremlin’s offensive.
Shishimarin — from the Siberian region of Irkutsk — sat in the glass defendant’s box in a Kyiv district court, wearing a blue and grey hoodie.
The youthful-looking soldier with a shaved head looked towards the ground as a prosecutor read out charges against him in Ukrainian.
An interpreter was translating for him into Russian.
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He is accused of killing the civilian — allegedly on a bicycle — near the village of Chupakhivka in the eastern Sumy region on February 28.
Prosecutors say Shishimarin was commanding a unit in a tank division when his convoy came under attack.
He and four other soldiers stole a car, and as they travelled near Chupakhivka they encountered a 62-year-old man on a bicycle, they said.
According to prosecutors, Shishimarin was ordered to kill the civilian and used a Kalashnikov assault rifle to do so.
The Kremlin earlier said it was not informed about the case.
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