KYIV, Ukraine, May 23, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A Kyiv court Monday ruled that a 21-year-old Russian soldier who killed a civilian was guilty of war crimes and handed him a life sentence, in the first verdict against Moscow's forces since their invasion.

"The court has found that (Vadim) Shishimarin is guilty and sentences him to life imprisonment," judge Sergiy Agafonov said. Shishimarin, a Russian sergeant, admitted early in court to killing 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov in the first days of the Kremlin's offensive in north-east Ukraine.