Finland sentences Russian neo-Nazi Petrovsky to life for war crimes in Ukraine

Yle reported the information.

The court dismissed one of the five charges against Petrovsky (or Voislav Torden), who, as deputy commander of Rusich, led the group's fighters on September 5, 2014, when they ambushed Ukrainian soldiers and burned the Ukrainian flag.

The Russian denied all charges in court.

This is the first case in Finland where a Russian has been charged for crimes committed in Ukraine.

Who is Yan Petrovsky, or Voislav Torden?

Yan Petrovsky was born in Irkutsk, Russia, and lived in Norway for an extended period starting in 2004. He became known in the country due to his far-right connections. According to the Norwegian broadcasting company NRK, Petrovsky participated in the Syrian war as part of an ultra-right group fighting on the side of Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

Norway deported Petrovsky to Russia in 2016 because he was considered a security threat. In 2017, he gave an interview to the Russian news website Meduza. He calls himself a "Russian nationalist and patriot."

Petrovsky was placed under suspicion in Ukraine under Part 1 of Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code (Creation of a terrorist group or organization). According to Ukrainian investigators, he fought in Ukraine between 2014 and 2015. He was placed on the wanted list in 2016.

Petrovsky was arrested in Finland on July 20, 2023, at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport when he was about to fly to Nice, France. He presented Finnish border guards with a Russian passport and a residence permit issued by Finland in the name of Voislav Torden. On August 25, the court kept Yan Petrovsky in custody.

Ukraine demanded the extradition of Petrovsky-Torden, but the Supreme Court of Finland denied the request on December 8. Finnish judges referred to the decision of the European Court of Human Rights. According to the Finnish court, Petrovsky would face treatment in Ukraine that would violate his dignity.

By the decision of the Supreme Court of Finland, Petrovsky was released from custody. However, Finnish border guards immediately took Torden from prison. Initially, it was suggested that he might be deported from the country. But later, it became known that the militant was taken into custody.

On December 15, it was reported that after denying the extradition request from Kyiv for the leader of the Russian neo-Nazi group Rusich, Yan Petrovsky, the Finnish prosecutor's office decided to start a pre-trial investigation regarding his possible involvement in war crimes in Ukraine.

In December 2023, the Helsinki District Court ruled to arrest Russian Yan Petrovsky on suspicion of committing war crimes.

In October 2024, Petrovsky, a Russian neo-Nazi from the Rusich group, was charged in Finland with five war crimes committed in Ukraine.