Russian Ex-Commander Convicted of War Crimes in Finland

In a landmark ruling, the Finnish court in Helsinki found Voislav Torden guilty of multiple war crimes linked to an ambush that resulted in the deaths of several Ukrainian soldiers during the 2014 conflict in eastern Ukraine.

A 38-year-old Russian national, Voislav Torden, formerly known as Yan Petrovsky, was sentenced to life imprisonment by a Finnish court for his involvement in war crimes committed in Ukraine back in 2014. Torden, a prominent figure within the far-right Russian paramilitary group Rusich, faced charges stemming from an ambush in the Luhansk region, where Ukrainian forces were attacked, resulting in 22 soldiers' deaths and four injuries. Although Torden denied the charges, the court found him guilty on four counts, highlighting his leadership role in the ambush as well as the gruesome actions of his unit, which included the mutilation of a wounded soldier.

Notably, this signifies the first instance of war crime charges being adjudicated in a Finnish court in relation to the Ukrainian conflict. While Torden was acquitted of one charge due to insufficient evidence, the judges emphasized the brutality of the actions he was responsible for, comparing the killing of one soldier to murder. Despite Finland's Supreme Court rejecting a Ukrainian extradition request, Torden was tried in Helsinki under international law statutes, creating a precedent for similar cases that have occurred globally. Torden now intends to appeal the conviction, as reported by local media.