The Kyiv appeal court has lowered the sentence of Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin who was earlier sentenced to life in prison for killing a civilian. The soldier will now serve 15 years behind bars, Graty news outlet reports.
Shishimarin, 21, was a tank crew commander. He was found guilty in May of violating the laws and customs of war for killing a 62-year-old civilian resident of the Sumy region Oleksandr Shelypov. The soldier was handed a life sentence.
The defence claimed that Shishimarin’s ensign who commanded him to murder the civilian was responsible for the crime. The Russian national himself explained that he had shot Shelypov so that his higher-ups would get off his back. Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office earlier said that Shishimarin was the first Russian soldier taken to court for killing a civilian in Ukraine.
