Vadim Shishimarin

Vadim Shishimarin

Vadim Yevgenievich Shishimarin (Russian: Вадим Евгеньевич Шишимарин; born 17 October 2000) is a Russian soldier who was the first person to go on trial for war crimes committed during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. On May 18, 2022, he pleaded guilty to fatally shooting an unarmed civilian, Oleksandr Shelipov.Shishimarin was born in Ust-Ilimsk in Irkutsk Oblast. He was a sergeant and commander in the Russian Army's Kantemirovskaya Tank Division. On 28 February 2022, while retreating to join other Russian units, his unit hijacked a private vehicle and drove to Chupakhivka, Sumy Oblast, about 200 miles east of Kyiv. On the way, they saw Oleksandr Shelipov, a 62-year-old Ukrainian man, who was riding a bicycle. Shishimarin was ordered to shoot the man 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. Another soldier repeatedly told Shishimarin to shoot the man. Shishimarin fired three to four rounds at Shelipov, who would die a few dozen meters from his own house. On 4 May, the security service of the Ukrainian SBU posted a video of a "confession" from Shishimarin describing on camera how he had shot the victim. Shishimarin claimed he had turned himself in voluntarily. On 18 May Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said her office had been preparing war crimes cases against as many as 41 Russian soldiers.Shishimarin said he was ordered to shoot the civilian because it was feared the man would give away the position of the Russian soldiers. "I was ordered to shoot," Shishimarin said in a confession video, which appeared to have been edi

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