Overview

• Voislav Torden, a Russian national and former commander of the far-right Rusich paramilitary group, was sentenced to life in prison by a Finnish court for war crimes committed in Ukraine in 2014.
• The charges included the killing of a wounded Ukrainian soldier, mutilation of another soldier, and disseminating degrading photos of deceased soldiers online.
• The court dismissed one of five charges related to organizing an ambush, citing insufficient evidence of Torden's direct involvement in planning the attack.
• This case marks the first time Finland has prosecuted an individual for war crimes under the principle of universal jurisdiction, which allows serious crimes to be tried regardless of where they occurred.
• Ukraine praised the ruling as a significant step toward accountability for war crimes, while Russia criticized the verdict as politically motivated and biased.