The first Russian soldier to be tried for war crimes in Kyiv since the start of the Ukraine war has asked for “forgiveness” in court. “I know you cannot forgive me, but I still ask for your forgiveness,” said 21-year-old Vadim Sch. on Thursday at the hearing in Kyiv on the wife of the 62-year-old civilian whose killing he had already confessed to.
sh is accused of shooting the unarmed man in a stolen car on February 28 in the northern Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka. When asked in court if he pleaded guilty, he replied “yes.” The soldier from Irkutsk, Siberia faces a life sentence for war crimes and murder.
According to Ukrainian investigators, the young man wanted to flee with four comrades in a stolen car after an attack on his convoy in northern Ukraine. The victim witnessed the theft of the car. In court confirmed Sch. this representation.
Another Russian soldier in the car, who was not his commander, “told me to shoot,” he said. “He started saying in an energetic tone that I should shoot (and) that I would create a danger if I didn’t.” He shot the 62-year-old at close range. “It killed him.”
