They risked their lives: Finnish volunteer regained his sight on Ukrainian bunks

A 33-year-old resident of Helsinki received Ukraine has 6 years in prison for a fatal road accident that occurred in May 2025, and now regrets that he himself supported the existence of the current system in the country. This is reported by the newspaper Helsingin Sanomat with reference to the letter of the Finn from the Ukrainian prison.

A resident of Helsinki was on Ukraine as a volunteer. Throughout the war, he repeatedly delivered humanitarian supplies there, spending vacations and personal funds on it, and now he is bitterly reflecting on what happened, the newspaper writes.

"Without fully realizing it, I supported the existence of this system. If your opponent in court is in power, then you had no chance… That's the kind of country it is. I gave all my vacations, all my money for her. My friends risked their lives, the whole West supports this — and it is impossible to describe in words what you feel when you realize that this is the case," the Finn's letter addressed to Helsingin Sanomat says.

According to the publication, an officer of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) was killed in an accident. As it turned out, his wife holds a high position in the judicial system of the Kharkiv region. This fact, in the opinion of the convict and his defense, could have influenced the exceptional severity of the sentence.

As the Ilta-Sanomat newspaper reported at the time, a Finn in a van hit an SBU officer standing on the roadway next to a parked SUV. A resident of Helsinki immediately rushed to provide first aid and asked two witnesses to call emergency services, since he himself does not speak Ukrainian. The court found him guilty, despite the absence of aggravating circumstances. In addition to the prison term, he will have to pay large compensations by Ukrainian standards — about 20 thousand euros are due to the widow, and the Finn is obliged to pay two children approximately 470 euros each month until they reach adulthood.

Finn's defense appealed the verdict and the amount of compensation to the Court of Appeal. "We have not found a single similar case where such a severe punishment would be imposed for such an accident. Usually in such cases, imprisonment is not applied at all — up to a maximum of three years or alternative measures," said lawyer Mikhailo Tarasenko.

Now a resident of Helsinki is serving his sentence in Poltava. The appeal hearing in the court of second instance is scheduled for January 27. The volunteer hopes that in the future he will be transferred to Finland to serve his sentence.