Ukraine’s top prosecutor has disclosed plans for the first war crimes trial of a captured Russian soldier.
Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said her office charged Sgt Vadin Shyshimarin, 21, in the killing of an unarmed 62-year-old civilian who was gunned down while riding a bicycle in February, four days into the war.
Shyshimarin, who served with a tank unit, was accused of firing through a car window on the man in the north-eastern village of Chupakhivka. Ms Venediktova said the soldier could face up to 15 years in prison. She did not say when the trial would start.
Ms Venediktova’s office has been investigating more than 10,700 alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces and has identified more than 600 suspects.
Many of the alleged atrocities came to light last month after Moscow’s forces aborted their bid to capture Kyiv and withdrew from around the capital, exposing mass graves and streets and yards strewn with bodies in towns such as Bucha. Residents told of killings, burnings, rape, torture and dismemberment.
Volodymyr Yavorsky of the Centre for Civil Liberties said the Ukrainian human rights group would closely follow Shyshimarin’s trial to see if it is fair: “It’s very difficult to observe all the rules, norms and neutrality of the court proceedings in wartime.”
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12:44 AM
Quick membership if Finland and Sweden join Nato
Nato allies expect Finland and Sweden to apply to join the alliance in coming days and will grant membership quickly, Reuters has reported five diplomats and officials as saying.
During the one-year ratification of their membership, the allies would provide an increased troop presence in the Nordic region, hold more military exercises and naval patrols in the Baltic Sea and possibly rotate British and American forces through Finland and Sweden, they said.
Finland and Sweden would not benefit from Nato’s collective defence clause – that an attack on one ally is an attack on all – until the parliaments of all 30 member states have ratified the decision.
Finland President Sauli Niinisto will announce his stance on Thursday, a move that will be considered as official confirmation of Helsinki’s decision to join.
Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats are expected to decide on Sunday whether to overturn decades of opposition to Nato membership. Sweden’s parliament is holding a parallel, all-party review of security policy, which is due to report on Friday.
“Yes and yes: they will apply and they will be granted membership,” said one senior diplomat of how the two Nordic nations will act.
