This is the first time that a Russian military man has been brought to justice for the murder of a civilian during this war.
The case will be heard by the Solomyanka District Court of Kiev. The first hearing on procedural issues took place on Friday, but the court will now begin on the merits.
The investigation revealed that the 21-year-old soldier had killed an unarmed resident of the village of Chupahivka in the Sumy region on February 28, pushing a bicycle along the side of the road.
According to the prosecutor’s office, the column containing Sergeant Shishimarin had previously been destroyed by the Ukrainian army. On the run, he, along with four other colleagues from the vending machines, opened fire on a private car and robbed it.
The invaders then entered the village in a hijacked car. There they saw a man returning home and talking on the phone. One of the military ordered the sergeant to kill the civilian so that he would not report the invaders to the Ukrainian army.
Shishimarin was shot dead several times in the head of a 62-year-old man with a machine gun.
The accused, who is from the Siberian city of Irkutsk, is in custody. He faces ten to 15 years in prison or life imprisonment.
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