Finland detains Russian who committed war crimes in Donbass

This was reported by the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat.

According to the newspaper, the 36-year-old man is suspected of participation in a terrorist group in Donbass in the period from June 2014 to August 2015. He also participated in the war on the side of Russia in 2022.

Ukraine has already requested his extradition. The suspect's case and the issue of extradition will be considered by the Ita-Uusimaa District Court on 25 August.

According to the U.S. Treasury Department, the detainee has been the commander of the Rusich group since 2022. Before that, its leader was Alexei Milchakov, a neo-Nazi mercenary who is also under sanctions.

According to the sanctions list, Rusich troops have ties to the "Wagnerites" and probably fought as part of Wagner's PMC. According to Norwegian broadcaster NRK, Petrovsky, who lived in Norway for several years in his youth, also took part in the war in Syria as part of a far-right group fighting on the side of President Bashar al-Assad's regime.

Background: the Rusich Diversionary and Assault Reconnaissance Group (DSHRG) is a Russian neo-Nazi military group that has been involved in the war in eastern Ukraine since 2014, as well as fighting in Syria and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022 as part of the Russian army.

The close connection between the Rusich DSMG and the Wagner PMC is evidenced by the fact that Milchakov and the nominal leader of the Wagner PMC Dmitry Utkin served together in the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Forces.