The news was announced by Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova, Polish state news agency PAP reported.
The soldier, identified as Sgt. Vadim Shysimarin from the 4th Armoured Division, Moscow Oblast, is in Ukrainian custody, Venediktova said on Wednesday.
She added that Shysimarin faced 10 to 15 years’ imprisonment for shooting a civilian on a bicycle and leaving him dead beside a road.
According to investigators, Shysimarin was one of five Russian soldiers who on February 28 stole a car while escaping the Ukrainian army and drove into the village of Chupakhivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region.
When they saw an unarmed elderly resident riding a bicycle and talking on his phone, Shysimarin was ordered to shoot the man so he would not report them to Ukrainian forces.
The defendant opened fire at the local man, killing him instantly, according to Ukrainian officials.
Two civilians shot dead near Kyiv
Meanwhile, US broadcaster CNN has released footage of Russian troops killing two unarmed Ukrainian civilians near the capital Kyiv.
A surveillance video showed the owner and a guard at a vehicle dealership being shot by Russian soldiers, who then plundered the premises, CNN reported on Thursday.
The killing is now being investigated by Ukrainian prosecutors as a war crime, officials said.
Thursday is day 78 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, edition.cnn.com, nytimes.com