Helsinki's Court of Appeal on Friday reduced the life sentence of Russian national Yan Petrovsky, also known as Voislav Torden, to 12 years and 6 months in prison, Finnish public broadcaster Yle reported.
In March, the Helsinki District Court found Petrovsky, one of the leaders of the neo-Nazi sabotage and assault reconnaissance group Rusich, guilty of four of five counts of war crimes in Ukraine and sentenced him to life imprisonment. The appellate court upheld convictions on three counts.
The charges relate to events in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014–2015, where Rusich fought alongside separatists. According to the prosecution, Petrovsky and other group members were involved in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers and the wounding of four others. Evidence was partly based on video recordings published by the group's members themselves.
The appeals court ruled that there was insufficient evidence that Petrovsky personally shot wounded Ukrainian soldiers or bore command responsibility for those actions. However, the court found it proven that he opened fire on Ukrainian troops during an ambush staged using a foreign flag.
Petrovsky was detained in Finland in July 2023 at Helsinki airport. Ukraine sought his extradition, but Finland's Supreme Court refused, citing conditions in Ukrainian prisons, after which Finnish authorities launched their own investigation.