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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Courtroom drama: Ukrainian widow confronts Russian who shot her husband
KYIV, Ukraine — In an emotional scene in a Kyiv courtroom, a Ukrainian widow on Thursday spoke2 directly to the Russian soldier who's pleaded guilty to killing3 her husband.
The widow, Kateryna Shelipova, broke down in tears on the witness stand. But she was allowed to continue, and addressed the Russian army sergeant4 in a glass box used to hold defendants5.
"What did you feel when you killed my husband?" she said. "Tell me, please."
The Russian soldier, Vadim Shishimarin, 21, replied, "Fear. I understand you probably won't be able to forgive me. But I ask for your forgiveness."
This case is the first war crimes trial in Ukraine since the Russian invasion, and is being closely watched. More than 100 journalists overwhelmed the tiny courtroom Wednesday, leading authorities to move it to a larger courthouse on Thursday.
Shishimarin pleaded guilty Wednesday. But Ukrainian prosecutors7 wanted to introduce evidence and call witnesses, which they were allowed to do Thursday.
In addition the widow, one of Shishimarin's fellow Russian soldiers was also called to the stand.
The soldier, Ivan Maltisov, testified that an armored vehicle carrying several troops broke down in the village of Chupakhivka in northeastern Ukraine on Feb. 28, just four days into the Russian invasion.
The Russian troops then stole a Volkswagen Passat and were driving through the village. They encountered 62-year-old Oleksandr Shelipov, who was walking with his bike and talking on his phone.
The Russians allegedly feared that Shelipov might be divulging8 their position. One of the other soldiers in the car told Shishimarin to shoot the man, Maltisov said. Shishimarin initially9 refused, but after an argument, he fired several rounds out the window from the back seat of the car, hitting the victim in the head and killing him instantly.
His wife, Shelipova, heard the shots ring out. When she looked out of her house, she saw a car with Russian soldiers in it. After they left, she went out looking for her husband, and found his body several hundred yards down the street.
Ukrainian forces captured the Russian troops the following day, March 1, according to testimony10.
The prosecutor6 asked Shelipova what an appropriate sentence would be for the Russian sergeant, and she said life in prison. But she added that she would support a trade of the Russian for the Ukrainian fighters who have surrendered this week to Russia at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
Ukraine takes a different approach
War crimes trials have traditionally been held after a conflict is over, and in recent years, international bodies, like the International Criminal Court at the Hague, have presided over them.
But Ukraine is taking a very different approach. The country says it has already identified more than 11,000 potential Russian war crimes. Ukraine believes that if it waits until the conflict ends, evidence can go cold and witnesses can be hard to track down.
Ukraine says it has identified more than 40 Russian suspects for offenses11 that include bombing civilian12 targets, killing civilians13, rape14 and looting. But capturing them will almost certainly be the biggest obstacle.
Russia, meanwhile, denies that its troops have harmed civilians despite the overwhelming evidence. A Kremlin spokesman called the current trial in Ukraine "simply fake."
War crimes trials could also complicate15 Ukrainian efforts to get back their prisoners of war from Russia. Both sides have captured prisoners and made small exchanges.
But some Russian officials are making the unfounded claim that a number of the Ukrainian fighters who surrendered at the steel plant in Mariupol were Nazis16, and should be put on trial in Russia.
1 transcript | |
n.抄本,誊本,副本,肄业证书 | |
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2 spoke | |
n.(车轮的)辐条;轮辐;破坏某人的计划;阻挠某人的行动 v.讲,谈(speak的过去式);说;演说;从某种观点来说 | |
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3 killing | |
n.巨额利润;突然赚大钱,发大财 | |
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4 sergeant | |
n.警官,中士 | |
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5 defendants | |
被告( defendant的名词复数 ) | |
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6 prosecutor | |
n.起诉人;检察官,公诉人 | |
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7 prosecutors | |
检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 ); 告发人; 起诉人; 公诉人 | |
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8 divulging | |
v.吐露,泄露( divulge的现在分词 ) | |
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9 initially | |
adv.最初,开始 | |
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10 testimony | |
n.证词;见证,证明 | |
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11 offenses | |
n.进攻( offense的名词复数 );(球队的)前锋;进攻方法;攻势 | |
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12 civilian | |
adj.平民的,民用的,民众的 | |
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13 civilians | |
平民,百姓( civilian的名词复数 ); 老百姓 | |
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14 rape | |
n.抢夺,掠夺,强奸;vt.掠夺,抢夺,强奸 | |
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15 complicate | |
vt.使复杂化,使混乱,使难懂 | |
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16 Nazis | |
n.(德国的)纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 );纳粹主义 | |
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