Russian man gets reduced sentence in Finland over Ukraine war crimes

A Finnish appeals court said ⁠on Monday it had overturned parts of a guilty verdict against a Russian-born man convicted of war crimes in Ukraine, reducing his sentence to 12-1/2 ⁠years from life imprisonment.

Voislav Torden, 39, formerly known as Yan Petrovsky, was found guilty by the Helsinki appeals court of taking part in a 2014 ambush in which 22 Ukrainian soldiers died, reversing a lower court's dismissal of that charge.

But the court overturned Torden's convictions for shooting a wounded Ukrainian soldier and for mutilation, leading to the reduced sentence.

The trial of Torden was a rare case of foreign ⁠prosecutors pursuing ⁠alleged war crimes stemming from the anti-Kyiv insurgency that Moscow backed in eastern Ukraine, years before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The court found Torden guilty of taking part in an ambush in which attackers used a Ukrainian flag to deceive Ukrainian troops before opening fire on them.

"The Court of Appeal finds that Torden is, in ⁠count one, liable for the deaths of the 22 Ukrainian soldiers referred to in the indictment and for severely wounding four soldiers," Monday's verdict read.

It also upheld convictions for publishing degrading images of a dead Ukrainian soldier and declaring that his unit would show no mercy and take no prisoners.

Torden's lawyer Heikki Lampela ⁠told ‌Reuters his ‌client intended to appeal the guilty verdict on ⁠the first count to Finland's supreme ‌court.

Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe said prosecutors would review the ruling before deciding whether to appeal.

Torden ⁠was detained in Finland at Ukraine's request ⁠in 2023 as he tried to travel to France. The ⁠Finnish supreme court later blocked his extradition to Ukraine.