--- title: "Finland drops life sentence for 'Rusich' leader: Torden gets 12.5 years, but guilt in abuse confirmed" description: "The Court of Appeal of Finland replaced the life sentence of 'Rusich' leader Voislav Torden with 12.5 years, dropping some episodes but confirming guilt in the abuse of fallen Ukrainian fighters." date: 2026-08-31T11:52:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/finland-court-reduces-torden-rusich-sentence tags: [rusich, war-crimes, finland, ukraine-war, wagner-group] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Finland drops life sentence for 'Rusich' leader: Torden gets 12.5 years, but guilt in abuse confirmed ![Man in a black cap and T-shirt with a lavalier microphone on his chest — frame linked to the case of 'Rusich' leader Torden in Finland](https://xab.info/media/2026/08/31/finlandiya-sud-smyagchil-prigovor-torden-rusich/finlandiya-sud-smyagchil-prigovor-torden-rusich-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - The Court of Appeal of Finland replaced Voislav Torden's (Yan Petrovsky's) life sentence with 12.5 years of imprisonment. - The court confirmed that Torden personally fired a machine gun at fighters of the 'Aidar' battalion in the September 2014 ambush (22 killed, 4 wounded). - The episodes of direct execution, command responsibility, and the episode with the symbol on a prisoner's cheek were dropped; guilt in the abuse of the fallen and in provocative public statements was confirmed. - Torden was detained in Finland in July 2023, extradition to Ukraine was denied; in March 2025 he was given a life sentence, which was later reduced. The Court of Appeal of Finland has reviewed the case of Voislav Torden, formerly known as Yan Petrovsky, one of the leaders of the Russian neo-Nazi group 'Rusich'. The court overturned the life sentence handed down in March 2025 and replaced it with 12.5 years of imprisonment. The appeal was contentious: Torden himself sought either a full acquittal or a substantial reduction of the sentence, while the Finnish prosecution insisted on conviction on five counts of war crimes. The outcome was a compromise — some charges were dismissed, but guilt on a number of serious episodes was upheld. ### What the Court of Appeal established The key confirmed episode was the September 2014 ambush on fighters of the Ukrainian 'Aidar' battalion. The Court of Appeal found that Torden personally fired a machine gun at Ukrainian servicemen. According to the case file, the occupiers lured the defenders using the Ukrainian flag as bait, as a result of which 22 fighters were killed and four more were wounded. It was precisely this episode that formed the basis for maintaining the war crimes charges at the level of direct participation in the combat engagement. ### Which episodes were dropped At the same time, the court found the evidence of the direct execution of Ukrainian fighters by Torden himself or by other members of the group insufficient, which led to the dismissal of the corresponding episodes. The court also relieved him of command (commander's) responsibility for these actions. The episode involving the branding of the 'Rusich' symbol on a prisoner's cheek was also dismissed: the court deemed the wound superficial and not causing prolonged suffering, and therefore it was not classified as a separate crime. ### Where guilt was confirmed Despite the reduced sentence, the court confirmed Torden's guilt in other war crimes related to the abuse of fallen Ukrainian warriors. In particular, publishing a photograph on social media was deemed a crime, showing the commander of the 'Rusich' group against the backdrop of a heavily burned body of a fallen Ukrainian defender. In addition, guilt was confirmed for public statements on the internet that the 'Rusich' group categorically does not take Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters prisoner. ### Contradictory data The available sources contain discrepancies in the assessment of Torden's role in the 'Rusich' structure: in some materials he is described as one of the leaders of the group, in others — as the former deputy commander of a storm unit. There is also a gap between the positions of the parties: the prosecution sought conviction on five counts of war crimes, whereas the appeal confirmed guilt only on part of them, dismissing the episodes of direct execution and command responsibility. These inconsistencies in the wording of his role and in the scope of the confirmed charges have been taken into account in the text. ### How the fighter ended up in a Finnish court Voislav Torden (Yan Petrovsky) had lived in Norway since 2004 and participated in the activities of far-right organizations. In 2014–2015 he fought against Ukraine in the Donbas, after which Ukrainian law enforcement authorities placed him on the wanted list on suspicion of creating a terrorist group. The fighter is under EU and US sanctions. He was detained in Finland in July 2023 at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport, when he attempted to fly to France using a passport in the name of Torden. Ukraine requested extradition, however the Supreme Court of Finland refused to hand him over, citing allegedly inadequate conditions in Ukrainian prisons, as a result of which the case was heard by a Finnish court, which in March 2025 handed down a life sentence. ### Context: 'Rusich' and 'Wagner' The 'Rusich' group is linked to the Wagner private military company, and its mercenaries are accused of systematic brutality and torture of prisoners. The Torden case has become one of the few examples of the judicial prosecution of fighters from this group within a European jurisdiction on charges of war crimes, which gives the handed-down sentence broad international resonance. ## 🔍 Fact-Check Verification - [Finland overturns life sentence for neo-Nazi from 'Rusich'](https://www.rbc.ua/ukr/news/finlyandiya-skasuvala-dovichne-uv-yaznennya-1788176461.html) - Подтверждает отмену пожизненного срока и смягчение наказания по делу боевика «Русича» в Финляндии. - [Court in Finland reduces life sentence for former deputy commander of neo-Nazi storm ...](https://www.bbc.com/russian/articles/cd08jvdxd8ko) - Подтверждает смягчение пожизненного приговора; указывает роль «бывший замкомандира», что даёт расхождение в формулировке должности, отражённое в статье. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: What sentence did the Court of Appeal of Finland hand down to Voislav Torden? **A:** The court overturned the life sentence handed down in March 2025 and replaced it with 12.5 years of imprisonment. ### Q: In what did the court confirm Torden's guilt? **A:** The episodes of personal firing from a machine gun at fighters of the 'Aidar' battalion in the September 2014 ambush were confirmed, as well as the abuse of fallen Ukrainian warriors and public statements that 'Rusich' does not take Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters prisoner. ### Q: Which charges were dropped? **A:** The episodes of direct execution of Ukrainian fighters, command responsibility, and the episode with the branding of the 'Rusich' symbol on a prisoner's cheek, deemed a superficial wound, were dropped. ### Q: Why was the case heard in Finland rather than in Ukraine? **A:** The Supreme Court of Finland refused to extradite Torden to Ukraine, citing allegedly inadequate conditions in Ukrainian prisons, so the case was heard by a Finnish court.