The images that reach us from Ukraine show a frightened young man, with a sad and shifty gaze, which would almost inspire pain. However, the facts which are reproached to Vadim Chichimarine are extremely serious. The soldier is accused of killing a 62-year-old unarmed civilian on February 28 in the Ukrainian village of Chupakhivka. A war crime for kyiv. The first since the start of hostilities tried by a Ukrainian court.
The trial against this 21-year-old Russian soldier opened yesterday, and the accused immediately declared himself “totally guilty” of the crime with which he is charged. The facts of which the soldier is accused are described as follows by the British media BBCwhich relays the story of the prosecutor:
“Chichimarine was commanding a unit in a tank division when his convoy came under attack. He and four other soldiers stole a car and, while traveling near Chupakhivka, they passed a 62-year-old man on a bicycle. Chichimarine was then ordered [qui ne venait pourtant pas d’un supérieur hiérarchique] to kill the civilian and he executed himself using a Kalashnikov.”
“I still ask for forgiveness”
According to the testimony provided today by the soldier, when he passed the soldiers’ car, the victim allegedly told the Russians that they had denounced them, which “would explain” the execution of the civilian. A crime that Chichimarine seems to regret since, as reported by the Italian newspaper The Republiche addressed Kateryna Shalipova, widow of the killed civilian, in these terms:
“I know you won’t be able to forgive me. But I still beg your pardon.”
Hard to believe that these excuses will be enough to avoid the life imprisonment required against Chichimarine by procuring him for war crimes and premeditated homicide.
Especially since this first trial has a strong symbolic value, as explained on Twitter Iryna Venediktova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine, whose remarks are relayed by The Republic :
“With this first trial, we are sending a very clear signal: everyone who ordered or witnessed crimes in Ukraine must not shirk their responsibility.”
An opinion that the Milanese daily does not share Corriere della Sera, who considers this trial to be both a moral and strategic mistake for Kyiv. The centrist newspaper argues:
“Starting a trial while the war is still going on is a bad choice, and even a bit stupid. Bad because, during a conflict, it is impossible to have the distance and the serenity necessary to make the laws take precedence over the emotions; but also stupid, because this choice could harm the Ukrainian military and civilians who are in the hands of the Russians, exposing them to reprisals and ill-treatment, even more brutal than those they suffer today.”