Finnish court reduces Russian neo-Nazi Voislav Torden’s sentence in Ukraine war crimes case — 12.5 years instead of life

Source: YLE News

The Helsinki Court of Appeal has reduced the sentence of neo-Nazi Voislav Torden — formerly known as Yan Petrovsky, one of the commanders of the sabotage and assault reconnaissance group “Rusich,” in a war crimes case tied to the conflict in Ukraine, and ordered him to serve 12 and a half years in prison on three counts.

In March 2025, the Helsinki District Court had sentenced Torden to life in prison on four of the five war crimes charges against him, stemming from Rusich’s activities in eastern Ukraine in September 2014, when the group fought alongside separatists in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.

According to investigators, Torden and other Rusich members killed 22 Ukrainian soldiers and wounded four more. Prosecutors claimed that Rusich fighters lured a group of Ukrainian soldiers traveling by vehicle into stopping, then opened fire on them.

The appeals court found insufficient evidence that Torden and two other Rusich members had fired on wounded soldiers, ruling that he bore no personal or command responsibility for that shooting and dismissing the related charge.

The court did find it proven that Torden opened fire on Ukrainian soldiers during an ambush carried out under a foreign flag, convicting him on three counts in total.

Torden denies any involvement in war crimes.

Torden was tried in Finland after being detained there in 2023 for violating migration law. Ukrainian authorities sought his extradition, but Finland’s Supreme Court denied Kyiv’s request, citing conditions in Ukrainian prisons. Finnish authorities then opened their own investigation into him.

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Finnish court reduces Russian neo-Nazi Voislav Torden’s sentence in Ukraine war crimes case — 12.5 years instead of life

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Finnish court reduces Russian neo-Nazi Voislav Torden’s sentence in Ukraine war crimes case — 12.5 years instead of life

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