The life sentence of a Russian soldier for war crimes and Putin’s 15,000 soldiers killed in action put the success of Russian troops in Ukraine into perspective.
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“It still sends a whole message. It breaks this idea that in times of war, everything is permitted,” said Guillaume Lavoie, associate member of the Raoul-Dandurand Chair, in an interview with LCN.
In addition to the conviction of the young Russian Vadim Chichimarine, the opening of 11,000 investigations for war crimes and the arrest of 40 suspects.
“For a soldier to shoot a civilian who poses no danger to his mission is an extraordinarily serious war crime,” said the specialist.
According to him, such a sentence also sends a message to Russian soldiers who would be of the same age as Mr. Chichimarine and who would also not be aware of all the rules.
“There is no leave to impunity. If you commit this kind of crime, you are at risk,” he continued.
For Mr. Lavoie, the milestone of 15,000 Russian soldiers killed is a “gigantic” military failure for Putin’s army.
“Russia was also in a very long conflict in Afghanistan which lasted 10 years and in 10 years they had 15,000 soldiers dead or wounded.”
The number of deaths would then correspond to that due to the invasion in Ukraine which has been going on for three months.
“We can try to make believe that everything is going very well for Russia, but these figures show that it is a disaster, at the very least, logistical and military.
