Helsinki County Court has sentenced Russian citizen Vojislav Torden, formerly known as Jan Petrovski, to life imprisonment for committing war crimes in eastern Ukraine between 2014 and 2015. The verdict, announced on 14 March 2025, was the culmination of a lengthy trial that began last December and upheld the prosecution's demand for the maximum sentence for the Russian. 

The trial focused on Torden's activities as part of the Rusich sabotage and assault reconnaissance group, which fought on the side of the then self-proclaimed republics of Donbass. The Finnish prosecutor's office presented evidence, including video recordings taken by the group's members themselves, indicating his involvement in the murders. The prosecution insisted that Torden's actions were particularly grave, which was the basis for the life sentence. The defendant himself categorically denied his guilt, claiming that he did not participate in the fighting, but was engaged exclusively in medical care. 

Torden was detained in Finland in July 2023 at Helsinki-Vantaa Airport while attempting to fly to Nice on suspicion of violating immigration laws. Ukraine subsequently requested his extradition, but Finland's Supreme Court refused, citing the risk of torture in Ukrainian prisons. Finnish authorities then launched their own investigation, which resulted in charges being filed in October 2024. Deputy Prosecutor General Jukka Rappe qualified Torden's actions as aggravated war crimes, including the murder of 22 Ukrainian soldiers and the wounding of four others.