Shelipov's widow joined the prosecution demand for life in prison, but said she was not opposed to him being handed to the Russians in exchange for one of the Ukrainian fighters captured in Mariupol.
According to Moscow, more than 2,400 Ukrainian fighters have now been captured from the Azovstal steelworks in the port city. Ahead of the sentencing, Moscow said it was looking for possibilities to help the defendant.
For Ukraine, this is likely only the beginning of the country's reckoning with the countless war crimes committed since the start of Russia's invasion three months ago.
Russian troops have since withdrawn from the north-eastern regions of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy. Their withdrawal has revealed reports of atrocities that have triggered horror around the world. More than 400 were found dead in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha alone.
Many crimes have also been documented in the suburbs of Irpin and Borodyanka.
The United Nations has so far registered more than 3,800 civilian deaths since the war in Ukraine began, but believes that the actual number of victims is significantly higher.
In a recently published interview on the editorially independent Russian website Meduza, the mother of Vadim Sh. said she had only learned about the war in Ukraine when she heard about her son's imprisonment on March 1.
She said that she now knew many parents whose children were in Ukrainian captivity, adding that she had written to Putin saying she wanted her son back, but had not received an answer.
