As such, the first conviction of a Russian soldier for a war crime in Ukraine is an important signal.
Nobody can judge from the outside how the confession of the convict came about;
moreover, the judgment has not yet become final.
But the criminal proceedings show the will to work through the rule of law.
It becomes clear that not everything is allowed in war, even if many reports tend to suggest and some recordings also show that Russian soldiers deliberately killed civilians and treated them inhumanely.
Whether this is spontaneous or the result of orders calling for the “denazification” and annihilation of Ukraine as a state, these are crimes that must be solved and punished.
Despotism and terror will be counteracted by a hopefully fair trial, in which Ukraine must have a great interest not only because it wants to join the European Union.
Anyone who defends freedom and human rights and opposes revenge and retribution stands out all the more from Putin's breach of civilization.
As understandable as an exchange of prisoners would be, it remains important that individual guilt is established in a fair trial.
And that the rule of law processing of the war does not stop with the recipients of orders.