ZAPORIZHIA, Ukraine (AP) — Chief Prosecutor of Ukraine unveiled plans Wednesday for in first trial of war criminals of a captured Russian soldier as the fighting raged in east and south and kremlin left open an opportunity of annexation corner of the country he took over early in in invasion.
This was stated by the Prosecutor General Irina Venediktova. office accused sergeant. Vadin Shishimarin, 21 years old in in killing of unarmed 62-year-old civilian who was shot down while cycling in February, four days of war.
Shishimarin, who served with tank unit, was accused of firing through car window on that man in northeast village of Chupahovka. Venediktova said that the soldier could get into up up to 15 years in prison. She did not say when the trial would be. start.
Venediktova office said he was investigating more over 10,700 alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces and identified over 600 suspects.
Many of alleged atrocities reached light last a month after Moscow’s forces thwarted their attempts capture Kyiv and left the whole capital, exposing mass graves and streets and yards scattered with body in cities like Bucha. Residents told of murder, arson, rape, torture and dismemberment.
Vladimir Yavorsky of Centre for Civil liberties declared human rights in Ukraine group will keep a close eye on the Shishimarin’s trial to make sure it’s fair. “It is very difficult to observe all the rules, norms and neutrality of trial in wartime,” he said.
On the economic front Ukraine shut down one of pipelines that transport Russian gas across the country to homes and industry in Western Europe celebrating first time since start of war that Kyiv disrupted the flow to the west of one of The most profitable export of Moscow.
But immediate effect likely to be limited in partly because Russia can divert gas to another pipeline, and Europe relies on diversity of suppliers.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin-appointed politician in southern Kherson regionsite of in first big Ukrainian city fall in war, officials there said want Russian President Vladimir Putin will make Kherson “right region” of Russia – that is, annex it.
” city of Kherson is Russia,” Kirill Stremousov, Deputy head of The Kherson Regional State Administration was appointed by Moscow, RIA Novosti reported. news agency.
This increased the likelihood that the Kremlin would try to break off another piece of Ukraine is trying to save invasion went awry. Russia has annexed Ukraine’s Crimean peninsula, which borders Kherson. region after a controversial referendum in 2014, a move condemned as illegal and rejected by majority of in international community.
Kherson, Black Sea port of approximately 300,000, provides Crimea with access to fresh water and seen as a gateway to wider Russian control over south of Ukraine.
This was stated by the official representative of the Kremlin Dmitry Peskov.up residents of Kherson region after all, to decide whether there will be such an appeal should be made or not.” He said either move annex territory should be carefully assessed by legal experts to make sure it’s “absolutely legal as it was with Crimea.”
Advisor to the President of Ukraine Mikhail Podolyak ridiculed this idea. of Annexation of Kherson, tweet: “The invaders may ask join even Mars or Jupiter. The Ukrainian army will liberate Kherson, no matter what games with words they play”.
Inside Kherson, people took to the streets to denounce the Russian occupation. But the teacher who gave only to her first Name, Olga, for fear of Russia’s retaliation said such protests were now impossible because Moscow troops were “simply kidnapping activists and citizens.” for wearing Ukrainian colors or ribbons. She said “people fear of speak openly outside them homes’ and ‘everyone goes on in street fast.”
“All people in Kherson is waiting for our troops will come soon as possible,” she is added. “Nobody wants live in Russia or join Russia.”
At the battlefield, Ukrainian officials said the Russian missile attack set his sights on area around Zaporozhye, destroying unidentified infrastructure. There were no immediate reports of victims. southeast city was a refuge for civilians fleeing a Russian siege in devastated port city of Mariupol.
Russian troops continued to shell the steel plant, last bastion of Ukrainian resistance in Mariupol, its defenders say. Polk Azov said on social media which the Russian troops carried out 38 airstrikes in previous 24 hours on grounds of Metallurgical plant “Azovstal”.
Plant, with This network of tunnels and bunkers that sheltered hundreds of Ukrainian military and civilians during a months-long siege. results of civilians were evacuated in recent days, but Ukrainian officials have said some of them may still be trapped there.
In his late-night address on Tuesday, President Volodymyr Zelensky offered Ukraine military gradually pushes Russian troops away from Kharkov, second-the largest city and key to Russia offensive in Donbass, eastern prom. region whose capture Kremlin says it is his main goal.
Ukraine also Russian language targeting air defense and supply ships on snake island in Black Sea in an attempt to frustrate Moscow’s attempts to expand its control over coastline, according to the British Ministry of Defense.
Separately, Ukraine stated that it had fired down cruise missile aimed at the Black Sea port city of Odessa.
Elsewhere the governor of Russian region near Ukraine they said at least one a civilian was killed and six wounded by Ukrainian shelling in village of Solokhi, which is not far from the border. Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov could not be independently verified, but he said the village would be evacuated.
The Ukrainian gas pipeline operator said it intends to stop the flow of Russian gas through a compressor station in part of eastern Ukraine is controlled by Moscow-backed separatists because enemy forces interfered with station operation and pumping off gas.
The hub handles approx. one-third of Russian gas goes through Ukraine to Western Europe. But analysts have said a lot of the gas could be diverted through another pipeline from Russia that crosses Ukraine, and there have been indications that this is happening. Anyway, Europe also receives natural gas from other pipelines and other countries.
“We’re losing a few percent in total gas supplies to Europe, taking into account imports and domestic production,” said Tom Marzek-Manser, analyst in market intelligence firm ICIS. “So it’s not a huge gas supply cut” for Europe.
And it wasn’t clear will Russia take any immediate hit since it has a long term treaty and other ways of gas transportation.
However, the clipping emphasized the wider risk to gas supplies from the war.
“Yesterday’s decision This small preview of What can happen if gas installations hit on live fire and face in risk of extended downtime,” gas said analyst Zongqiang Luo of Rystad Energy.
As for other developments, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry urged global community tighten sanctions on Russia, saying that Russia is stealing Ukrainian grain and trying to sell some of This is on global markets. According to the ministry, Russia may have already stolen up up to 500,000 metric tons of grain worth more more than 100 million dollars. The ministry stated theft tantamount to looting and any countries that purchase grains can be accomplices.
___
Gambrell reported from Lvov, Ukraine. Jessica Fish in Bahmut, David Caton in Kyiv, Yuri Karmanov in Lvov, Mstislav Chernov in Kharkiv, Lolita S. Baldor in Washington, Calvin Chan in Contributions were made by London and AP staff around the world.
___
Watch hotspots coverage of war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
.
