Vadim Shishimarin

Vadim Yevgenievich Shishimarin (born 2001) is a Russian soldier who was the first person to be convicted of war crimes during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On February 28, 2022, several days into the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Shishimarin saw 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian Oleksandr Shelipov riding a bicycle. He was ordered to shoot Shelipov to prevent him from telling defenders about their location. Shishimarin then fired several shots at the victim's head, killing him instantly. He fired out from an open car window with a Kalashnikov assault rifle. Shishimarin turned himself in the following day and confessed.

"I was ordered to shoot," Shishimarin said in a confession video, which appeared to have been edited. "I shot one round at him. He falls. And we kept on going." Shishimarin pleaded guilty in May 2022. However, under Ukrainian law he was required to be convicted by three judges.

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.

Shishimarin was sentenced to life imprisonment on 23 May 2022. 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. However, his sentence was later reduced to 15 years.

See Also

• Azatbek Omurbekov
• Olga Kachura
• Roman Bykovsky
• Vladimir Andonov

References

• Russian soldier pleads guilty in first Ukraine war crimes trial since invasion, The Guardian
• Russian soldier jailed for life for Ukraine war crime, BBC News
• Ukraine Reduces Russian Soldier's Life Sentence to 15 Years, The Moscow Times
• Ukraine symposium – The atrocity crimes advisory group & Ukrainian prosecutions of Russian POWs – Part 1, Articles of War