News

Ukraine war crimes trial: 'Accountability is clearly very important to this government'

A 21-year-old Russian soldier pleads guilty to killing an unarmed Ukrainian civilian at a war crimes trial in Kyiv, in the first such case to go to court since the start of the invasion. Vadim Shishimarin from Irkutsk in Siberia admits to gunning down the 62-year-old man near the central village of Chupakhivka to prevent him from reporting a carjacking by fleeing Russian troops. He faces possible life imprisonment for war crimes and premeditated murder after the case is heard by a district court in Kyiv. For more analysis on the trial, FRANCE 24 is joined by Diane Orentlicher, Professor of International Law at American University’s Washington College of Law. It's very striking to her how the Ukrainian government is addressing the Russian invasion and the ensuing atrocities "through a framework of law." And so as Ukraine investigates "war crimes in real-time," something considered unprecedented, Professor Orentlicher is also struck by "how much emphasis the government has placed on having fair proceedings, which is difficult to do in the heat of battle."