(Kyiv) A court in Kyiv announced Friday that a life sentence for a Russian soldier sentenced in May for the murder of a civilian in Ukraine has been commuted to 15 years in prison on appeal.
Posted at 7:30 am
“The defense’s appeal has been partially satisfied. Court ruling […] The Kyiv Court of Appeal said in a statement that the new sentence was “15 years in prison”.
Sergeant Vadim Chichimarin, 21, admitted to shooting Oleksandr Chelipov, a 62-year-old civilian, in the northeast of the country during the early days of the Russian army’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on May 23 to war crimes and premeditated murder.
Vadim Chichimarin said in court that he acted under pressure from another soldier when he tried to flee to Russia in a stolen car with four other soldiers.
The soldier, originally from Irkutsk in Siberia, had “asked forgiveness” from Mr. Chelipov’s widow during a brief exchange with her in a Kyiv courtroom in May.
It is noteworthy that the Russian forces are accused of committing war crimes and violations by the Ukrainian authorities, especially during their occupation of the vicinity of the capital, from which they withdrew at the end of March.
Kyiv also accused them of arbitrary detention and torture in the territories they occupy in southern Ukraine.
