Finland Charges Russian Neo-Nazi Yan Petrovsky With War Crimes Committed in Ukraine

In Finland, Russian neo-Nazi from the "Rusich" group, Yan Petrovsky, has been charged with five war crimes committed in Ukraine.

This was reported by Yle.

Deputy Attorney General Jukka Rappe has charged Yan Petrovsky (also known as Voislav Torden) with five war crimes committed in the fall of 2014. The charges relate to the suspect’s activities as part of a unit called "Rusich,"  which fought in eastern Ukraine starting in 2014.

Petrovsky is accused of participating in actions that violate the rules of warfare. He and members of the unit are accused of killing a total of 22 Ukrainian servicemen and seriously wounding four more.

Additionally, Petrovsky is charged with actions that violate the norms of martial law regarding the conduct of war and the treatment of wounded and deceased enemy soldiers.

The publication noted that this is the first time in Finland's history that war crime charges related to actions committed in Ukraine have been brought.

According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Petrovsky also participated in the Syrian war as part of a far-right group fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Norway deported Petrovsky to Russia in 2016, considering him a security threat.

In Ukraine, Petrovsky was charged under Article 258-3 Part 1 of the Criminal Code (Creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization). According to Ukrainian investigators, he fought in Ukraine from 2014 to 2015 and was declared wanted in 2016.

On December 15, it became known that after Kyiv's request for the extradition Yan Petrovsky was denied, Finnish prosecutors decided to initiate a pre-trial investigation into his alleged 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.