SIMFEROPOL, May 23. /TASS/. Crimea Head Sergey Aksyonov has said the case of the Russian serviceman that was convicted in Kiev was fabricated, which is shown by how fast the investigation and trial went down.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that a court in Kiev sentenced a Russian armed forces soldier Vadim Shishimarin to a life in prison. He is the first Russian soldier since the start of the special operation to be sentenced by a Ukrainian court. Ukrainian Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova asserted that Shishimarin was accused of killing a civilian in the Sumy Region. She stated that about 13,000 cases were started against Russian servicemen in the country, and 49 servicemen were charged.
"The high speed with which the investigation was carried out and the verdict passed speaks for itself: The case was fabricated, no one bothered to search for evidence," Aksyonov said on Telegram in comments on the trial. "The Kiev regime is in a hurry, realizing that it doesn’t have long to create lawlessness."
He called for trials of Ukrainian prisoners who are now in the Donetsk and Lugansk people's republics to be held as soon as possible. He said that’s the only "reliable way to protect our servicemen who have been taken prisoner and to make sure they don’t stay in Ukrainian prisons long."
"There is more than enough evidence of their [Ukrainians'] guilt in war crimes, so sentences should be tough," Aksyonov said.
He noted that after the verdicts are passed, the "exchange pool" needed to get back the servicemen who had been captured by Ukraine to Russia would also increase. The most odious characters shouldn’t be used for exchanges, he said. "And the conveyor for the sentencing of our guys will stop immediately," Aksyonov said.