OREANDA-NEWS Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation Andrey Rudenko commented on the possibility of exchanging Russian serviceman Vadim Shishimarin, convicted in Ukraine. It is reported by TASS.

“We will consider all things after the surrendered [Ukrainian militants] are appropriately convicted, sentenced, then there may be some other steps,” he said.

Rudenko added that before that, all talk about the exchange is premature.

Earlier, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Irina Venediktova said that the exchange of Shishimarin, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in prison, is technically possible.

“I say, as I said then, that they can exchange him, they can exchange a person after the verdicts of the courts. Yes, technically it is possible,” Venediktova said in response to a question about the fate of Shishimarin.

On May 23, a court in Kyiv sentenced a Russian military man to life imprisonment, who is accused of violating the laws and customs of war. According to the Ukrainian prosecutor’s office, on February 28, 2022, in the Sumy region, Shishimarin shot an unarmed 62-year-old man who was riding a bicycle along the side of the road.

The Russian military fully admitted his guilt. His defense announced that he was preparing to appeal the court's verdict.