A Finnish court sentenced Russian national Yan Petrovsky to life imprisonment for war crimes in eastern Ukraine in 2014. The ruling found his paramilitary unit responsible for the killing of an injured soldier and other offences. Petrovsky denied the charges and intends to appeal.
A Finnish court sentenced a Russian man to life imprisonment on Friday for war crimes committed in 2014 in eastern Ukraine, where his paramilitary unit was found to have been involved in the killing of an injured soldier.
The trial of Yan Petrovsky, also known as Voislav Torden, was a rare instance of foreign prosecutors addressing war crimes linked to the conflict in eastern Ukraine, which Moscow supported before the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Born in 1987, Petrovsky was convicted on four out of five charges related to his activities in Ukraine's Luhansk province, part of the Donbass industrial region.
The court identified him as a member of Rusich, a paramilitary unit linked to the Russian Wagner group. He has been under European Union and U.S. sanctions since 2022.
He was found guilty on four counts, including the actions of his unit that led to the death of a wounded Ukrainian soldier, the mutilation of another, and the taking and publishing of degrading images of deceased soldiers.
"A fixed-term prison sentence was not an adequate punishment," the court stated in its verdict.
Petrovsky was detained in Finland at Ukraine’s request in 2023 while attempting to travel to France using a false identity. Finland’s supreme court later blocked his extradition to Ukraine.
One charge was dismissed, with the court ruling that there was insufficient evidence to prove that Petrovsky’s Rusich unit had organised and carried out an ambush while posing as Ukrainian forces, which resulted in the deaths of 22 Ukrainian soldiers. However, it determined that Rusich fighters had been present.
Petrovsky denied all charges and intends to appeal, his lawyer confirmed.
The claim that U.S. President Donald Trump's intervention stopped the execution of 800 detainees is "completely false", said prosecutor-general of Ira...
The Turkish Defence Ministry has called for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)’s “unconditional compliance” with the 18 January ceasefire agreem...
The United Nations nuclear watchdog must clarify its stance on U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran's nuclear sites last June that lasted 12 days, before ...
SOCAR’s Carbamide plant in Sumgayit has been recognised by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as a Global Lighthouse site, marking Azerbaijan’s first ...
In the snowy peaks of Davos, where the world’s most powerful leaders gather for the 56th World Economic Forum, a new narrative is emerging that chal...
Finland and Sweden have called for tougher economic measures against Russia, proposing higher import duties, export restrictions, and an European Union ban on Russian energy shipments.
The number of reported hate crimes has risen steadily each year since around 2020 in Finland, according to the Police University College. In 2025, nearly 70% of the crime reports filed were motivated by the victims' ethnic or national background.
Türkiye and Finland have agreed to strengthen cooperation in defence and European security. Both countries held discussions in Helsinki to further these efforts.
A planned meeting between Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen, was abruptly cancelled this week.
Qarabağ claimed a late 3–2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday night, scoring deep into stoppage time to secure a dramatic home win in Baku.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that Moscow could pay $1 billion from Russian assets frozen abroad to secure permanent membership in President Donald Trump’s proposed ‘Board of Peace’.
President Donald Trump said on Thursday that the United States has an "armada" heading toward Iran but hoped he would not have to use it, as he renewed warnings to Tehran against killing protesters or restarting its nuclear programme.
A commuter train collided with a construction crane in southeastern Spain on Thursday (22 January), injuring several passengers, days after a high-speed rail disaster in Andalusia killed at least 43 people.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has told his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian that Türkiye opposes any form of foreign intervention in Iran, as protests and economic pressures continue to fuel tensions in the Islamic republic.
In the snowy peaks of Davos, where the world’s most powerful leaders gather for the 56th World Economic Forum, a new narrative is emerging that challenges the current dominance of artificial intelligence (AI).
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief: here are the top news stories for the 23th of January, covering the latest developments you need to know.
The United States officially left the World Health Organization on 22 January, triggering a financial and operational crisis at the United Nations health agency. The move follows a year of warnings from global health experts that a U.S. exit could undermine public health at home and abroad.
Jared Kushner, U.S. President Donald Trump’s senior adviser, unveiled plans for a “New Gaza” on 23 January in Davos. The initiative to rebuild the war‑torn territory with residential, industrial, and tourism zones accompanies the launch of Trump’s Board of Peace to end the Israel-Hamas war.
TikTok’s Chinese owner, ByteDance, has finalised a deal to create a majority American-owned joint venture that will secure U.S. user data, safeguarding the popular short-video app from a potential U.S. ban. The move comes after years of political and legal battles over national security concerns.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment