View source for Trial of Vadim Shishimarin

{{Short description|Trial of Russian war criminal}}
{{family name hatnote|Yevgenievich|Shishimarin|lang=Eastern Slavic}}
{{Infobox court case
| name              = Trial of Vadim Shishimarin
| italic title      = no
| image             = Шишимарін1 - обрізане зображення.jpg
| caption           = Shishimarin on a trial in May 2022
| court             = [[Kyiv]], Ukraine
| charge            = [[War crimes]]
| date decided  = {{date and age|2022|05|23}}<ref name="BBC conviction" />
| verdict           = Convicted: life imprisonment;<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61549569.amp | title=Russian soldier jailed for life for Ukraine war crime | date=23 May 2022 }}</ref> reduced to 15 years in prison on appeal<ref name=sentence15/>
}}
'''Vadim Yevgenyevich Shishimarin''' ({{langx|ru|Вадим Евгеньевич Шишимарин}}; born 17 October 2000) is a Russian soldier who was the first person to go on trial for [[War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|war crimes]] committed during the [[2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-18 |title=First war crimes case against Russian soldier to open |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/world/2022/0518/1299649-warcrime-trial/ |language=en}}</ref> On 18 May 2022, he pleaded guilty to fatally shooting an unarmed civilian, Oleksandr Shelipov.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-19 |title=Ukrainian widow confronts Russian soldier accused of killing her husband |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61511640 |access-date=2022-05-21}}</ref> On 23 May, he was sentenced to life imprisonment.<ref name="BBC conviction" /> Shishimarin's lawyer lodged an appeal and on 29 July 2022, his sentence was reduced to 15 years in prison.<ref name="Fr24_UA_jails_for_life" /><ref name=sentence15/> Law professor Chris Jenks suggested that the legal reasoning, conviction and sentencing appeared to be flawed.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" />
== Background ==
Shishimarin was born in the Russian city of [[Ust-Ilimsk]] in [[Irkutsk Oblast]].<ref name="Guardian">{{Cite web |date=2022-05-18 |title=Russian soldier pleads guilty in first Ukraine war crimes trial since invasion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/18/russian-soldier-pleads-guilty-first-ukraine-war-crimes-trial-since-invasion |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=the Guardian |language=en}}</ref> He was a sergeant and squad leader in the [[13th Guards Tank Regiment]] of the [[Russian Ground Forces|Russian Army]]'s [[4th Guards Tank Division]].<ref>{{Cite news |last=Sevrinovsky |first=Vladimir |date=18 May 2022 |title=В Киеве начали судить 21-летнего Вадима Шишимарина — первого российского солдата, обвиняемого в военных преступлениях. Мы поговорили с его матерью |language=ru |work=Meduza |url=https://meduza.io/feature/2022/05/18/mne-ego-ne-otdadut-prosto-skazali-nikak |access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |date=13 May 2022 |title="Мне приказали выстрелить". В Киеве начался первый суд над российским военным, обвиняемым в убийстве мирного жителя |language=ru |work=BBC Russian Service |url=https://www.bbc.com/russian/news-61409530 |access-date=28 May 2022}}</ref>
On 28 February 2022, while retreating to join other Russian units, his group of five soldiers hijacked a private vehicle and drove to [[Chupakhivka]], [[Sumy Oblast]], about 200 miles east of [[Kyiv]]. On the way, they saw Oleksandr Shelipov, a 62-year-old Ukrainian man, former bodyguard of [[Leonid Brezhnev]],<ref name="Independent">{{cite news |last1=Sabin |first1=Lamiat |title=Russian soldier in Ukraine war crime trial pleads for forgiveness from victim's widow |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-soldier-forgiveness-war-crime-ukraine-b2083266.html |access-date=26 May 2022 |work=The Independent |date=19 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref> who was riding a bicycle and talking on the phone.<ref name="Guardian" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Polityuk |first=Pavel |date=2022-05-23 |title=Russian soldier jailed for life in first war crimes trial of Ukraine war |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-court-jails-russian-soldier-life-war-crimes-trial-2022-05-23/ |access-date=2022-05-23}}</ref> Warrant Officer Makeev, who outranked Shishimarin, ordered the sergeant to shoot the man. He refused, but another soldier named Kufakov repeated the command.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> Shishimarin fired three to four rounds from a [[Kalashnikov rifle|Kalashnikov assault rifle]] through an open car window at Shelipov, who would die a few dozen meters from his own house. At the next village, the tank team was ambushed, killing Kufakov. After escaping, the remaining members eventually surrendered.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> According to Ukrainian officials the shooting was captured on video.<ref name="CBS">{{Cite web |title=Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin accused of war crimes pleads guilty to killing unarmed Ukrainian civilian |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-war-crimes-trial-vadim-shishimarin-pleads-guilty/ |access-date=2022-05-18 |website=www.cbsnews.com |date=18 May 2022 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Reuters">{{Cite news |last1=Hunder |first1=Max |last2=Balmforth |first2=Tom |date=2022-05-19 |title=Russian soldier asks for forgiveness in Ukraine war crimes trial |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-soldier-asks-forgiveness-ukraine-war-crimes-trial-2022-05-19/ |access-date=2022-05-19}}</ref><ref name="Moscow Times">{{Cite web |last=AFP |first=Charlotte Plantive for |date=2022-05-19 |title=Russian Soldier on Trial in Ukraine Asks 'Forgiveness' |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/05/19/russian-soldier-on-trial-in-ukraine-asks-forgiveness-a77735 |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}</ref> On 4 May, the [[Security Service of Ukraine]] posted a video of Shishimarin describing how he had shot the victim. On 18 May Ukrainian Prosecutor General [[Iryna Venediktova]] said her office had been preparing war crimes cases against as many as 41 Russian soldiers.<ref>{{Cite news |agency=Associated Press |date=2022-05-18 |title=In a war crimes trial, a Russian soldier pleads guilty to killing a Ukrainian civilian |language=en |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/05/18/1099767017/russian-soldier-pleads-guilty-ukraine-war-crimes-trial |access-date=2022-05-18}}</ref>
Shishimarin said he was ordered to shoot the civilian because it was feared the man would give away the position of the Russian soldiers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fahey |first=Ryan |date=2022-05-18 |title=First Russian soldier on trial for war crimes in Ukraine pleads guilty |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/breaking-russian-soldier-trial-war-26997885 |access-date= |website=[[Daily Mirror]] |language=en}}</ref>
== Trial ==
Shishimarin was charged with premeditated murder and violating the laws and customs of war.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Polityuk |first=Pavel |date=2022-05-18 |title=Russian soldier pleads guilty in war crimes trial in Ukraine |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukraine-holds-first-full-hearing-war-crimes-trial-russian-soldier-2022-05-18/ |access-date=2022-05-18}}</ref> Even though he is a prisoner of war, his trial took place in a civilian court because Ukraine had abolished its military justice system. Related articles were then added to its domestic criminal code. On 13 May 2022 Shishimarin appeared at a pretrial hearing and chose to be tried by a three-judge panel rather than by a single judge or by a jury.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory">{{Cite web |last=Jenks |first=Chris |date=22 June 2022 |title=Ukraine symposium – The atrocity crimes advisory group & Ukrainian prosecutions of Russian POWs – Part 1 |url=https://lieber.westpoint.edu/atrocity-crimes-advisory-group-ukrainian-prosecutions-russian-pows-part-1 |website=Articles of War |publisher=Lieber Institute, [[United States Military Academy|West Point]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220706004234/https://lieber.westpoint.edu/atrocity-crimes-advisory-group-ukrainian-prosecutions-russian-pows-part-1|archive-date=2022-07-06|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{quote box|width = 30% |align= |quote = I'm truly and sincerely sorry. I didn't want that to happen, I didn't want to be there, but it happened. I would like to apologise once again. And I will accept all the measures of punishment that I will be offered.|source=Vadim Shysimarin, spoken statement in court<ref name="Guardian accept" /> }}
Kateryna, the victim's widow, said she was still coping with her husband's death. "I feel very sorry for him," she said. "But for a crime like that - I can't forgive him." She attended the court hearing and saw Shishimarin admit his guilt.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-05-18 |title=Russian soldier pleads guilty in first war crimes trial of Ukraine conflict |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61496428 |access-date=2022-05-18}}</ref>
On 18 May, Shishimarin pleaded guilty to the killing. According to law professor Chris Jenks, Shishimarin appeared to have pled guilty only to the act of killing, but not to the actual criminal charges of murder or violating the laws of war.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> At the hearing the following day, Shelipov's wife, Kateryna Shelipova, testified that the incident took place around 11 am, when her husband was unarmed and dressed as a civilian.<ref name="Reuters" /> She was getting water from a well when the shooting happened and would later find her husband dead with a shot in his head.<ref name="Moscow Times" /> 20-year-old Ivan Matysov, another captive Russian soldier who was in the same car with Shishimarin, also testified at the hearing. He confirmed that Makeev and a third serviceman, Kufakov, commanded Shishimarin to shoot, although Kufakov might not have been a more senior officer. In the car at the time, Makeev and another officer, Lieutenant Kalinin, outranked both Shishimarin and Maltisov. They believe that Kufakov also outranked them, but he was later killed in an ambush and his first name and actual rank have yet to be established.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> Shishimarin told Shelipov's widow, "I acknowledge my blame... I ask you to forgive me." Shelipova told the court that he deserves a life sentence, but she would not object if he were released to Russia in exchange for the return of the Ukrainians who [[Siege of Mariupol|surrendered at Mariupol]].<ref name="Reuters" /><ref>{{Cite web |title=Russian soldier on trial asks victim's widow to forgive him |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/russian-soldier-trial-asks-victims-widow-forgive-84829920 |access-date=2022-05-19 |website=ABC News |language=en}}</ref>
The prosecution argued that Shishimarin was not obliged to comply with the order, which did not come from his immediate commander.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lukashova |first=Sonia |date=20 May 2022 |title=The first trial of a war criminal has ended: it has become known when the verdict will be |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/05/20/7347403/ |access-date= |website=[[Ukrayinska Pravda]] |language=en}}</ref> The defence wanted to call Makeev and Kalinin as witnesses but found out that they had already returned to Russia as part of a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" />
On 20 May, Shishimarin's defence lawyer asked for his client to be acquitted of war crimes.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 May 2022 |title=Lawyer asks Kyiv war crimes trial to acquit Russian soldier |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/lawyer-asks-kyiv-war-crimes-trial-to-acquit-russian-soldier.956290 |access-date= |website=[[Times of Malta]] |language=en-gb}}</ref> Shishimarin stated to the court that he hadn't intended to kill Shelipov.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> Shishimarin's lawyer also argued that Shishimarin had intended not to kill but only to carry out the order formally, which Shishimarin had refused twice before succumbing to pressure from other soldiers. He further argued that the shots were unaimed, fired from a moving vehicle with a bad tyre, and only one bullet out of the burst hit.<ref name="Reuters kill">{{Cite news |last1=Polityuk |first1=Pavel |last2=Balmforth |first2=Tom |date=20 May 2022 |title=Russian soldier in Ukraine war crimes trial says he did not want to kill |language=en |work=[[Reuters]] |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-ukraine-crisis-court-idUKKCN2N60RC |access-date=}}</ref><ref name="Guardian accept">{{Cite web |last1=Tondo |first1=Lorenzo |date=20 May 2022 |title=Russian soldier says he will accept punishment for Ukraine war crime |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2022/may/20/russia-ukraine-war-russia-has-turned-donbas-into-hell-zelenskiy-says-us-senate-approves-40bn-in-aid-for-ukraine-live |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> The prosecution argued that Shishimarin could have fired fewer rounds or left the car to seize Shelipov's phone.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" />
Shishimarin was sentenced to life imprisonment on 23 May 2022.<ref name="BBC conviction">{{cite news |last1=Jackson |first1=Patrick |last2=Waterhouse |first2=James |date=23 May 2022 |title=Ukraine war: Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin jailed for life over war crime |work=[[BBC News]] |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61549569}}</ref> Judge Serhiy Agafonov said Shishimarin had committed murder with intent and violated the laws and customs of war, carrying out a "criminal order" by a soldier of higher rank.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" /> The defence lawyer said he will appeal, saying it was the most severe sentence.<ref name="Fr24_UA_jails_for_life">{{Cite web |date=23 May 2022 |title=Ukraine jails Russian soldier for life at war crimes trial |url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220523-ukraine-jails-russian-soldier-for-life-at-war-crimes-trial |access-date= |website=[[France 24]] |language=en}}</ref>
On 29 July 2022, a Court of Appeal in Kyiv reduced his sentence to 15 years in prison.<ref name="sentence15">{{cite news |last=Petrasyuk |first=Oleg |date=29 July 2022 |title=Ukraine Reduces Russian Soldier's Life Sentence to 15 Years |work=[[The Moscow Times]] |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/07/29/ukraine-reduces-russian-soldiers-life-sentence-to-15-years-a78444 |access-date=}}</ref> After serving his sentence, Shishimarin will be deported to [[Russia]] and banned from entering [[Ukraine]] for 5 years.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}
== Criticism ==
Chris Jenks, Professor of Law at the [[Dedman School of Law]] in [[Dallas]], [[Texas]], stated that it appeared that key elements of the prosecution's case for a war crime were missing. One apparent flaw was that it did not appear to have been shown that Shishimarin was aware that he was carrying out an illegal order, an element "at the core of the case". Shishimarin's "age, rank, experience and circumstances" should have been considered in deciding whether he was aware of the illegality. Another apparent flaw, according to Jenks, was that the possibility of the Russian forces believing Shelipov to have been a justified military target had not been established to have been unreasonable.<ref name="UAsymp_atrocity_crimes_advisory" />
==See also==
*[[Trial of Alexander Bobikin and Alexander Ivanov]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|War crimes}}
[[Category:2020s trials]]
[[Category:Trials in Ukraine]]
[[Category:War crimes trials]]
[[Category:War crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine]]