The Helsinki District Court has remanded Russian national Yan Petrovsky, also known as Voislav Torden, in custody on suspicion of having committed crimes on the territory of Ukraine as a member of the neo-Nazi Sabotage Assault Reconaissance Group (DShRG) “Rusich.” The court found the evidence that Petrovsky committed war crimes in 2014-2015 sufficiently convincing, according to a report by the Finnish publication Helsingin Sanomat. He is expected to be indicted by May 31.
According to the prosecutor's office, the investigation opened in Finland concerns crimes against Ukrainian servicemen who were wounded or surrendered during the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine that began in 2014.
In early December, a court released Petrovsky from custody, but he was soon detained again. Ukraine is seeking Petrovsky-Torden's extradition. Finland's Supreme Court refused to extradite the Russian on the grounds that he could face torture in Ukraine. As a result, the Finnish authorities have decided to investigate Petrovsky's possible crimes on their own, which is allowed under Finnish law.
According to the Ukrainian authorities, Petrovsky, together with Rusich Group founder Alexei “Fritz” Milchakov, tortured Ukrainian prisoners and took part in looting and the killing of civilians.
