Latest news with #YanPetrovsky
BBC News
14-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Russian mercenary sentenced to life by Finnish court for war crimes in Ukraine
A Russian national has been sentenced to life imprisonment by a Finnish court for committing war crimes in eastern Ukraine in Torden, 38, a senior member of the Russian far-right mercenary group Rusich, was found guilty of four charges by a court in the Finnish capital, Helsinki, on Friday, while he was acquitted of a fifth charges relate to an ambush and firefight that occurred in the Luhansk region of Ukraine, which killed 22 Ukrainian soldiers and injured four others. It's the first time charges have been brought and heard in a Finnish court over allegations of war crimes in Ukraine. Torden, previously known as Yan Petrovsky, was a founding member of Rusich, which operated in the eastern Donbas region as part of pro-Russian separatist fighting against Ukraine. Rusich is a subunit of the Wagner was alleged that, on 5 September 2014, Torden led his men as part of an ambush of Ukrainian soldiers by pretending to be Ukrainian, before setting fire to a truck and car belonging to the Ukrainian troops were killed and a further five injured, the indictment court in Helsinki found there was insufficient evidence to conclude that Rusich was specifically responsible for the ambush, as there were several other groups it found Torden guilty on all other counts, including that Torden was in charge of the Rusich mercenaries present during the ambush, who killed at least one Ukrainian soldier and injured men were also found to have mutilated a wounded soldier by "making the Rusich group symbol on his face".Torden was found to have distributed "degrading" images of the soldier and to have posted on social media that Rusich would "not grant mercy".A panel of three judges unanimously found him guilty of the latter four charges, writing that the most serious - of killing a soldier - was "comparable to murder due to its brutality and cruelty".While the court held that there was insufficient evidence to find him culpable for the deaths of the 21 other Ukrainian soldiers, it ordered him to pay compensation to the family of the soldier whose death he was found responsible has consistently denied the allegations levelled against him, Finland's public broadcaster reports. He intends to appeal the conviction, according to national newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. Torden was arrested at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in July 2023, at the request of the Ukrainian government, which sought to extradite request was rejected by Finland's Supreme Court over concerns he would not receive a fair trial in Ukraine - but he was still able to be tried in Helsinki as he was accused of crimes under international public broadcaster, Yle, reports that similar charges have been tried domestically relating to acts in countries including Rwanda and Iraq.
Yahoo
14-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Finland sentences Russian neo-Nazi mercenary Yan Petrovsky to life for war crimes in Ukraine
The Helsinki District Court sentenced Russian neo-Nazi mercenary Yan Petrovsky to life in prison for war crimes committed in Ukraine, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported on March 14. Petrovsky, co-leader of the Rusich paramilitary unit, was convicted of war crimes in Luhansk Oblast on Sept. 5, 2014, during Russia's invasion of Donbas. Prosecutors presented video evidence showing him ordering and participating in the execution of Ukrainian soldiers. Petrovsky denied all accusations, but the court ruled that the video recordings provided sufficient proof of his involvement. Rusich, a notorious Russian neo-Nazi group, has documented and published evidence of its own war crimes, including torture and extrajudicial killings. One of the five charges against him was dismissed. Ukraine had requested Petrovsky's extradition, but a Finnish court ruled on Dec. 8, 2023, that he could not be sent to Ukraine, citing concerns over prison conditions under the European Convention on Human Rights. The Rusich unit, linked to Russia's Wagner Group, has a long history of brutality. Co-founder Alexey Milchakov gained notoriety for publishing images of animal cruelty and openly celebrating war crimes. Petrovsky has been under EU and U.S. sanctions since 2022. Read also: Putin still seeks control over Ukraine despite US peace efforts, WP reports We've been working hard to bring you independent, locally-sourced news from Ukraine. Consider supporting the Kyiv Independent.
Reuters
14-03-2025
- Reuters
Finnish court convicts Russian man of Ukraine war crimes
HELSINKI, March 14 (Reuters) - A Finnish district court said on Friday it has found a Russian man guilty of committing war crimes in eastern Ukraine in 2014 and 2015, sentencing him to life in prison. The trial of Yan Petrovsky, who is also known as Voislav Torden, was a rare case of prosecutors outside Ukraine seeking justice for victims of alleged war crimes in a conflict that began long before Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Petrovsky, who was born in 1987, faced five charges related to his activities in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine a decade ago. Petrovsky, who has been under European Union and U.S. sanctions, opens new tab since 2022, has denied all charges, his lawyer Heikki Lampela told the Helsinki court last December.
