Sergeant Vadim Chichimarin, 21, had admitted killing Oleksandr Selipov, a 62-year-old civilian, in the north-east of the country in the early days of the Russian invasion
The life sentence given to a Russian soldier convicted in May of killing a civilian in Ukraine was reduced to 15 years in prison by an appeals court, a court announced today Kiev.
“The appeal filed by the defense was partially upheld. The judgment of the court (…) changed”the Kyiv Court of Appeal said in a statement, clarifying that the new sentence is “15 years in prison.”
The sergeant Vadim Chichimarin21, had admitted killing him Alexander Selipova 62-year-old civilian, in the northeastern part of the country in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine that began on February 24.
He pleaded guilty and was sentenced on May 23 to war crimes and premeditated murder.
Vadim Chichimarin had told the court that he acted under pressure from another soldier as he tried to flee to Russia in a stolen vehicle with four other soldiers.
This soldier, from Irkutsk Siberiahad apologized to Selipov’s widow during a brief conversation in a Kyiv courtroom in May.
Russian forces are accused by Ukrainian forces of war crimes and ill-treatment, mainly during the occupation of areas of the capital from which they withdrew in late Of March.
They have also been accused by Kyiv of arbitrary detention and torture in the territories they have seized in southern Ukraine.
RES-EMP
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