HELSINKI: Social media platforms associated with Russia’s Wagner Group mercenaries reported on Friday that a prominent fighter within one of the group’s subunits had been apprehended in Finland based on Ukraine’s extradition request.
Identified as Yan Petrovsky by Rusich, a far-right subunit linked to Wagner, the detained fighter is a founding member and leader of the unit. He has been subjected to European Union and United States sanctions since the previous year.
Telegram, a messaging app, conveyed the information that Petrovsky, who has been involved in combat in Ukraine since 2014, was initially arrested on July 20 due to a visa violation. Subsequently, there is a possibility of his extradition to Ukraine.
Formerly a resident of Norway, Petrovsky has a history of far-right activism and was instrumental in establishing Rusich as an explicitly neo-Nazi unit during the early stages of the conflict in Donbas in 2014.
It remains unclear how Petrovsky managed to enter Finland while being under European Union sanctions.
Wagner Group, known for its involvement on behalf of Russia in Ukraine and conducting mercenary operations across various African nations, has been subjected to sanctions by multiple Western countries over alleged atrocities.
Though not definitively confirmed by the Kremlin, the leader of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, and several other high-ranking figures are believed to have perished in a recent plane crash.
A district court situated near Helsinki in Vantaa was anticipated to extend Petrovsky’s detention, as requested by the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation. The detention is based on allegations of participating in a terrorist group’s activities and supporting terrorism, according to a court official.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general did not provide an immediate response to inquiries. On Telegram, Rusich disclosed portions of what it claimed to be the Ukrainian request for Petrovsky’s arrest.
Earlier today, the Russian embassy in Helsinki stated through the Russian state news agency RIA that it was aware of a Russian citizen’s detention in Finland at Ukraine’s request and was taking measures to provide consular assistance.
