Ukraine’s Chernihiv region court has sentenced a tank commander of Russia's 35th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade to 8.5 years of imprisonment over charges of violating the rules and customs of war, reports the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office.
Photo: The tank commander / Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine
According to the prosecution, the soldier “took part in the large-scale invasion conducted by the Russian Armed Forces and, on 24 February 2022, crossed the state border of Ukraine from the territory of Republic Belarus”. It is noted that he was part of the tank crew that was on its way to Chernihiv for the armed capture of the city.
“At the beginning of March, the invader attacked a citizen of the village Khalyavyn and mugged him, while threatening to shoot him with his rifle. Later on, the Russian soldier was captured by the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the statement by the Prosecutor General reads.
The Prosecutor General adds that the soldier admitted his guilt and “sincerely repented”. Due to these actions and his assistance to the investigation, the defence asked for a milder sentence for the tank commander.
At the end of May, a 21-year-old commander of Russia's 4th Guards Kantemirovskaya Tank Division Vadim Shishimarin was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Oleksandr Shelypov, a 62-year-old Ukrainian resident of the Sumy region. Shishimarin was found guilty of violating the rules and customs of war. In July, a Kyiv court eased his sentence, he will now spend 15 years behind bars.
In August, a Chernihiv district court sentenced a 31-year-old Russian tank operator-gunner Mikhail Kulikov to ten years of penal colony for firing at a multi-storey residential building.
