Ukrainian court sentences Russian soldier to 10 years in prison
Russian military officer Mikhail Kulikov (Photo:RFL\RL)
Chernihiv’s Desnianskyi district court has found Russian military officer Mikhail Kulikov guilty of violating the laws and customs of war and sentenced him to 10 years in prison, the Russian service of BBC News reported on Aug. 8.
The Russian officer was found guilty of firing from a tank into a residential building.
The trial of Kulikov began in the city of Chernihiv on June 24. He pleaded guilty at the first court hearing. The prosecutor asked the court to sentence the Russian officer to 10-and-a-half years in prison at a court hearing on Aug. 4.
According to the indictment, Kulikov, 31, on the orders of his commander, on Feb. 26 fired a shell from a T-72B tank into a multi-story residential building on the outskirts of Chernihiv. The shooting resulted in the destruction of apartments, but there were no casualties. The Russian soldier was captured by the Ukrainian military on the same day.
Kulikov confirmed in court that he was aware that he was firing at a residential building.
He also said that he was sorry and apologized to the apartment owners and residents of Ukraine.
Kulikov is a resident of the town of Aleysk, Altai Krai, Russia. He served in the Russian army under contract as a gunner operator of the guards motorized rifle brigade as part of the 41st combined army of the Russian armed forces.
He is the second Russian soldier convicted in Ukraine since the beginning of the invasion.
A court in Ukraine in late May sentenced 21-year-old Russian soldier Vadim Shishimarin to life imprisonment for killing a civilian in Sumy Oblast.
The appeals court on July 29 commuted his life sentence to 15 years in prison.
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