In Ukraine's first trial for war crimes — expected to be the first of many over the Russian invasion — Vadim Shishimarin, a shaven-headed sergeant from Irkutsk in Siberia, faces a life sentence after his guilty plea in a cramped Kyiv courtroom.
Shishimarin, 21, admitted to a war crime in shooting dead an unarmed 62-year-old man in Ukraine's Sumy region four days into the invasion.
"By this first trial, we are sending a clear signal that every perpetrator, every person who ordered or assisted in the commission of crimes in Ukraine shall not avoid responsibility," prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said.
Russia's government has no information on the soldier, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, adding that many such cases reported by Ukraine are "simply fake or staged".
The International Criminal Court is deploying its largest-ever field team to Ukraine, with 42 investigators, forensic experts and support staff being sent into the field to gather evidence of alleged war crimes.
US supports Finland, Sweden's NATO bid
President Joe Biden expressed strong support on Wednesday for the bid by Finland and Sweden to join NATO in the face of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and offered US support in the event of "aggression" during the application process.
"The United States will work with Finland and Sweden to remain vigilant against any threats to our shared security, and to deter and confront aggression or the threat of aggression" while their bid is considered, Mr Biden said in a statement.
Mr Biden, who will welcome Finnish President Sauli Niinisto and Swedish Prime Minister Magdalena Andersson to the White House on Thursday, said he was looking "forward to working with the US Congress and our NATO allies to quickly bring Finland and Sweden into the strongest defensive alliance in history".
"I warmly welcome and strongly support the historic applications," Mr Biden said.
The two countries formally handed in their applications earlier on Wednesday.
While the bids were warmly received by most allies, Turkey, which like all NATO members has the right to veto a nation's candidacy, has raised objections, and ambassadors meeting in Brussels failed to reach consensus on starting formal membership negotiations.
Historically non-aligned, Sweden and Finland have made a 180-degree turn since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, an event that drastically swayed opinion among a general public that had formerly been reluctant to join the alliance.
US reopens Kyiv embassy
The United States reopens its embassy in Kyiv after closing it for three months due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the State Department said.
The US Embassy in Kyiv has reopened after three month closure. Source: EPA / SERGEY DOLZHENKO/EPA
More than 1,000 Ukrainian fighters remain in Mariupol
More than 1,000 Ukrainian soldiers including senior commanders, remain inside the besieged Azovstal steel plant in Ukraine's port city of Mariupol, a pro-Russian separatist leader, Denis Pushilin, said.
Russia said that a total of 959 Ukrainian soldiers have surrendered at the plant, including 80 wounded, since Monday.
The two large metallurgical plants based in Mariupol are the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works and the Ilyich Iron and Steel Works part of Metinvest Group. Source: Getty / SOPA Images/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Gett
Kyiv's defence ministry says it will do "everything necessary" to rescue the personnel still in the plant's tunnels.
Ukraine says it hopes to exchange Azovstal fighters for Russian soldiers it is holding.
Moscow expels dozens of diplomats
Russia expels dozens of French, Italian and Spanish diplomats in tit-for-tat responses to the expulsion of Russian diplomats over the Ukraine conflict.
The foreign ministry says 27 Spanish, 24 Italian and 34 French diplomats have been declared "persona non grata".
All three countries condemn the move, with Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi calling it a "hostile act" which will make resolving the war through peaceful means more difficult.
