In Finland, Russian neo-Nazi Yan Petrovsky has been sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement in war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat reported on this.

The Helsinki District Court has sentenced Russian national Yan Petrovsky to life imprisonment on charges of committing war crimes during the war against Ukraine, fighting alongside pro-Russian terrorist groups.

Such a sentence in Finland theoretically allows for the criminal to remain in prison for life. However, in practice, the average length of imprisonment is limited to 12-14 years, after which the offender is conditionally released early by the decision of the Supreme Court.

Russian media, citing the defense lawyer, report that the defense will appeal the sentence handed down in Finland.

Petrovsky is known as a terrorist and a member of the Russian neo-Nazi Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group “Rusich”, who participated in hostilities against Ukraine in 2014. The unit set an ambush for the Ukrainian soldiers of the Aidar Battalion near Shchastia in September, where the Russian Nazis cut off the ears of some of the deceased.

In 2015, a Ukrainian court accused the Russian of committing crimes in Donbas under Article 258-3 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, which covers the creation of a terrorist group or terrorist organization, leading such a group or organization, or participating in it.

Detention in Finland

In 2023, Petrovsky’s wife was granted permission to study in Finland. Along with her, he was allowed to enter the country and given a residence permit. However, in July of the same year, he was arrested at Helsinki Airport before his flight to Nice.

The Prosecutor General of Finland accused Petrovsky of five war crimes committed in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions in 2014-2015. According to the investigation, he and the fighters of Sabotage Assault Reconnaissance Group “Rusich” were involved in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers and the wounding of four others.

He was also accused of violating the laws of war and of cruel treatment of wounded and killed soldiers.

In 2023, Ukraine sent a request for the extradition of the war criminal, but the Finnish Supreme Court rejected it, citing the conditions of detention in Ukrainian prisons and the threat to the defendant’s life.

According to the Norwegian broadcaster NRK, the terrorist also participated in the war in Syria. He was part of a far-right group that fought on the side of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Norway deported him to Russia in 2016, as he was considered a security threat.