Voislav Torden, 38, an ex-commander of the paramilitary group Rusich, was found guilty of multiple war crimes committed during the conflict in eastern Ukraine.
Russian Paramilitary Leader Sentenced to Life for Ukraine War Crimes
Russian Paramilitary Leader Sentenced to Life for Ukraine War Crimes
A Finnish court sentenced Voislav Torden to life imprisonment for war crimes in Ukraine, marking a significant legal precedent.
A pivotal ruling from a Finnish court has led to life imprisonment for Voislav Torden, a 38-year-old Russian national and former commander of the far-right extremist paramilitary group Rusich. Torden was found guilty of multiple war crimes committed in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
On Friday, the court in Helsinki sentenced Torden for his role in an ambush that resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers and the injury of four others. Despite his denial of the charges, the court held him accountable for significant acts of brutality and violence.
The court found him guilty on four counts, including leading his unit in an ambush under false pretenses and torturing a wounded soldier. His group prompted distress by mutilating the soldier and distributing demeaning images, with one judge describing the murder of a soldier as an act "comparable to murder due to its brutality and cruelty."
Torden's defense argued against sufficient evidence connecting his group to the ambush, highlighting the presence of multiple factions engaging in the conflict. Interestingly, he was acquitted of one charge due to a lack of direct involvement in the deaths of the other 21 soldiers.
This landmark case marks the first occasion that war crimes related to the Ukrainian conflict have been prosecuted in Finland. Torden's previous identity as Yan Petrovsky when he formed the Rusich group—a known subunit of the Wagner group—was noted in the trial.
Upon his arrest at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport in July 2023, he faced extradition attempts from Ukraine, turndown by Finland's Supreme Court citing unfair trial concerns. Torden aims to appeal this verdict, according to local reports.
Legal experts note that Finland has previously addressed war crimes involving conflicts in other nations, establishing a growing trend in international accountability for such severe violations.
