KYIV: The first war crimes trial since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine begins in Kyiv, against a Russian soldier accused of murdering an unarmed civilian on Wednesday.

The trial, which is anticipated to be followed by others, will put the Ukrainian legal system to the test at a time when international authorities are also investigating Russian soldiers’ violations.

Vadim Shishimarin, 21, is scheduled to appear in Kyiv’s Solomyansky district court at 2:00 p.m. (1100 GMT) on February 28 in connection with the death of a 62-year-old man in northeastern Ukraine.

The soldier from Irkutsk, Siberia, faces a maximum life sentence for war crimes and intentional murder.

“He understands what he is being accused with,” Viktor Ovsiannikov, his lawyer, told AFP, without providing the details of the case for defence.

He is cooperating with investigators and admitting the facts of the event, which occurred barely four days after the Russian invasion began, according to Ukrainian authorities.

Shishimarin was leading a unit in a tank division when his convoy was attacked, according to prosecutors.

He and four other troops stole a car, and while driving towards Shupakhivka in the Sumy area, they came upon a 62-year-old man riding a bicycle.

According to the prosecutor’s office, “one of the soldiers instructed the accused to kill the civilian so that he would not denounce them.”

Shishimarin then shot a Kalashnikov assault weapon from the vehicle’s window, killing “the man instantly, a few dozen metres from his home,” according to the statement.

[embedpost slug=”/what-is-putins-real-motifs-behind-withdrawing-troops-from-kyiv/”]