Pavel Polityuk, Tom Balmforth

KYIV (Reuters – On Friday, a 21-year old Russian soldier said that he did not want to murder an unarmed civilian. He also confessed to his regret at having spoken out in the final moments of the war crimes trial arising after Russia’s February 24 invasion.

Vadim Shishimarin (a tank commander) has pleaded guilty in killing Oleksandr Shelpov (a civilian of 62 years old), at the Chupakhivka village, northeast Ukraine, on February 28.

“I deeply regret. Shishimarin stated that she was sorry for what happened.

Shishimarin was accused of shooting multiple shots at civilians with an assault rifle from his car, after being directed to.

Viktor Ovsiannikov, a defence lawyer, told the court that Shishimarin fired only the rounds after two refusals to fire the orders and that only one of the three to four rounds struck the target.

Shishimarin claimed that he fired the shots out of fear for himself and asked whether the defendant intended to kill.

Ovsiannikov described, “He was sitting at a window of a vehicle… The car was moving at high speeds with a punctured tread,” he said.

Shishimarin’s aimless shooting and inadvertent killing of the civilian led me to conclude that Shishimarin was not intent on killing him, that he executed the order with formality and the hope that it would not be hit.” he stated.

He stated that he did not believe that the young man should be in the dock. Rather, he believes that the senior leaders of the country responsible for launching the war are to blame.

Andriy Synyuk the State Prosecutor stated that arguments do not alter the essential elements of the case.

The court will review all evidence and make a decision. According to the prosecution, the defense arguments did not contradict what was given.

When the court meets again, Monday may see a decision by the judge. Shishimarin has been sentenced to life imprisonment by the state prosecutor.

Russia has been accused of crimes against humanity and violence committed by Ukraine during its invasion. It has claimed that it has already identified over 10,000 war crimes. Russia denied the targeting of civilians, or its involvement in war crime.

According to the Kremlin, it does not have any information on the case and the presence of a Ukrainian diplomatic mission limits its ability provide support.