As Ukrainian courts begin trying captured Russian soldiers for war crimes, there are signs the Kremlin may hold their own trials against Ukrainian soldiers captured at Mariupol’s steel plant.

According to NPR, 21-year-old Army sergeant Vadim Shishimarin pleaded guilty to fatally shooting an unarmed civilian at the start of the war.

Shishimarin and several other Russian soldiers had stolen a car in an attempt to flee after their armored vehicle broke down.

They then noticed the 62-year-old civilian talking into a phone while riding a bicycle past them and, fearing he was giving up their position, shot him several times through the car’s window.

Judge Serhiy Agafonov said, “Given that the crime committed is a crime against peace, security, humanity and the international legal order” the court does not see a shorter sentence as feasible.

Meanwhile, in Russia politicians are calling for the Ukrainian solders who surrendered at the steel plant in Mariupol to be put on trial, which would violate the Geneva Conventions that say combatants can’t be tried just for partaking in battle.

The politicians may be attempting to circumvent the conventions by accusing the soldiers of being Nazis.

(Visited 250 times, 1 visits today)