Russian soldier who murdered an innocent grandfather smiles.

A Russian tank commander on trial for the murder of an innocent Ukrainian grandpa could be used in a prisoner trade.

Sergeant Vadim Shishimarin, on trial for war crimes, laughed in the dock when he learned he might be released as part of a plea bargain after killing unarmed Oleksandr Shelypov, 62.

During cross-examination from his victim’s widow Kateryn, 61, the 21-year-old POW begged for “pardon” and lowered his head yesterday at Kyiv’s Appeal Court.

On the fifth day of his country’s invasion, the sadistic soldier from Irkutsk in Siberia shot Oleksandr in the head with an AK-47 assault rifle in the north-eastern village of Chupakhivk.

But his mood swiftly changed when prosecutors revealed that two of his comrades who were scheduled to testify against him had been transported back home as part of an exchange, and he realized that he could face the same fate.

The case was postponed until today for sentence, with the defendant facing life in jail.