Families of two British fighters captured by Russian forces in Ukraine slam ‘rotten trial’ that saw them convicted of terror charges and sentenced to death by firing squad
- Brits Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 28, were captured in Ukraine in April during the siege of Mariupol
- The so-called supreme court of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) issued the death sentences on Thursday
- Devastated family of Aiden Aslin have urged the UK and Ukraine Governments to help bring them home safely
- Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim has also been sentenced, reports said as video showed the trio in a cage
- The trio were accused of being ‘mercenaries’ after fighting for Ukraine’s armed forces in the battle for the city
- UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the sentences as a ‘sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy’
The wife of a British soldier who was sentenced to death by firing squad after being captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine has blasted the ‘absurdity and cynicism of this rotten and false event called a trial’.
Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin were convicted in a ‘sham’ trial staged by Vladimir Putin’s regime in Donetsk – and Mr Pinner’s wife Larysa wrote on social media: ‘We also understand that Russian propaganda uses this case to the fullest, and this circus will go on for a long time.’
Mr Pinner, a 48-year-old British Army veteran from Watford, looked distraught in the caged dock as the death sentence was read out. Mr Aslin, 28, from Newark in Nottinghamshire, had earlier begged forgiveness as he was paraded on video for what appeared to be a forced confession.
Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin were forced to beg for their lives during scripted phone calls to family members and UK journalists by the Russian-backed separatists who are holding them captive.
They were convicted of being ‘mercenaries’ and conducting ‘terrorist activities’ for fighting with Ukrainian troops, in what Tory minister Robert Jenrick called a ‘Soviet-era style show trial’, weeks after they were captured during the siege of Mariupol.
The pair, both signed-up members of Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, were sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad, pending appeal.
Mr Aslin’s family has urged the UK and Ukraine governments to help bring them home safely. But according to the Sun newspaper, both men made a series of phone calls in the weeks leading up to the sham court trial.
The pair said they faced the death penalty unless the demands of their captors were met, amid fears they were forced to make the calls at gunpoint in April.
The newspaper reports that both men made virtually the same pleas and warning that they faced 20 years in prison of the death penalty after being charged with being ‘illegal combatants’.
Mr Pinner’s mother, Denise Price, 65, also reported getting a phone call and said it seems as though the British fighters are ‘being used for propaganda’, according to the Sun.
Meanwhile, it is understood Mr Aslin’s mother Ang Wood found out about the barbaric sentence while watching the TV news at the family home in Newark, Nottinghamshire.
His devastated family, who met officials at the Ukrainian Embassy in London on Thursday, demanded he is ‘treated with respect’ and urged both the UK Government to help bring them home safely – something a Whitehall source has cautioned could make matters worse.
In a statement, the family said: ‘We’ve heard the news from Donetsk and need some time to take everything in.
‘We love Aiden with all our hearts. He and Shaun, as members of Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war. They are not, and never were, mercenaries.
‘We hope that this sentence will be overturned and beseech the government’s of the UK and Ukraine to do everything in their power to have them returned to us safely, and soon.
‘We can only imagine what they are going through right now. This is a very upsetting development and we ask that our privacy is respected at this time.’
Last night, MP Robert Jenrick said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin’s regime.’
A still image, taken from footage of the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, shows Britons Aiden Aslin (left), Shaun Pinner (centre) and Moroccan Brahim Saadoun (right) captured by Russian forces during the conflict in Ukraine, in a courtroom at a location given as Donetsk, Ukraine, in a still image from a video released on June 7
Aiden Aslin (right) and Shaun Pinner (left) were detained in April during the siege of Mariupol while fighting in Ukraine, before appearing in court in the separatist region of Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and handed death sentences after a show trial
Shaun Pinner (pictured with his wife Larysa) had moved to Ukraine four years before joining Ukrainian marines
Aidan Aslin (left) looked straight ahead while Shaun Pinner (right) closed his eyes and looked down during their sentencing
British fighters captured while fighting in Ukraine were forced to beg for their lives in scripted phone calls to UK journalists by the Russian-backed separatists who are holding them captive. Pictured: Aiden Aslin (first left) and Shaun Pinner (second left)
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss slammed the ruling as a ‘sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy’, declaring that the men were prisoners of war.
A spokesman for Boris Johnson said the UK was working with Kyiv to try and secure the men’s release, with Downing Street describing the Prime Minister as ‘deeply concerned’.
Vladimir Putin’s ‘man in Ukraine’ could be key to the British men’s fate
The key to the British men’s fate could be oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, known as Vladimir Putin’s ‘man in Ukraine’ and currently in Kyiv’s custody.
The hostage Britons were previously paraded on camera asking to be exchanged in a prisoner swap for Medvedchuk, 67.
Putin is godfather to one of his children and their families have enjoyed Black Sea holidays together.
Oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, who is known as Vladimir Putin’s ‘man in Ukraine’ and is currently in Kyiv’s custody
However the Ukrainian authorities seem unwilling to give up Medvedchuk – who lived in Kyiv – as he was last week charged with treason.
The former politician and lawyer had been placed under house arrest last year, accused of selling military secrets to Moscow and helping in the annexation of Crimea.
But four days after the Russian invasion in February, he fled, only to be arrested in April while wearing military fatigues in an attempt to blend in.
He was offered to Moscow in return for ‘boys and girls who are now in Russian captivity’, something that was dismissed by the Kremlin but which came with a warning Ukrainian leaders should ‘watch out’.
Yesterday’s show trial is being seen as a possible tit-for-tat response. The death penalties could be a tactic by Russia to increase pressure on getting Medvedchuk out of Ukrainian hands.
Alternatively, he could simply be another pawn in the Kremlin’s true game of trying to drive a wedge between Ukraine and the UK, by using him to destabilise relations between Kyiv and London which have been in lockstep throughout the invasion thus far, much to Putin’s fury.
‘Under the Geneva Convention, prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity,’ said a PM spokesman.
However, a Whitehall source cautioned that getting more involved could worsen the situation. They added: ‘There’s a solid rationale for not wanting to escalate this and make it a bilateral issue between the UK and Russia.
‘This is because international law considers them Ukrainian combatants, and Ukraine is responsible for them in legal terms. If the UK gets involved, it will aid Russia’s argument that these are mercenaries.’
The three men said they will appeal the decision. The court in the DPR, one of two self-proclaimed break-away states in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas, is not internationally recognised.
They appeared behind a metal cage at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine as the verdict was read out today.
Ex-British Army soldier Pinner stared at the ground and appeared distraught and close to tears, while former care worker Aslin remained composed.
The pair were captured by Russian forces after becoming surrounded in the port city of Mariupol in April. They have since been paraded in various videos with visible injuries and appeared to read from scripts.
Meanwhile, the Russian leader was today pictured meeting young entrepreneurs in Moscow as the barbaric sentencing unfolded.
It comes as a friend who fought alongside Aiden Aslin told BBC’s Newsnight he believed the death sentences would ‘invigorate’ those still resisting Russian advances in Ukraine.
Brennan Phillips, an American former soldier who met Mr Aslin in Syria and worked alongside him in Ukraine before the Briton’s capture in April said: ‘I think it will invigorate people more than anything. Whatever effect they thought they would have in this provocation, I don’t think that and I don’t think it’s going to be well-received.
‘And they did this as a provocation. They chose and I think many people expected that they would choose, Russia would choose, the most provocative stance that they could take in a quote unquote, death sentence.
‘I do not believe that Sean or Aiden will be subject to the death sentence or anything like that. I do believe that their captivity under the Russians will be extended for a little bit, but I do believe wholeheartedly and I’m very confident that they will be released safely back to their families.’
Mr Phillips, from Tennesse, said Mr Aslin had a well established life in Ukraine and had not gone to fight there as a ‘thrill-seeker’.
He added: ‘He went to Ukraine in 2017. He has a Ukrainian fiancee. They do have or did have a home outside of Mariupol. And he was a part of the 36th Marine Brigade.
‘So, yeah, he had a well established life in Ukraine, Ukrainian citizenship. He planned on ultimately staying and living in Ukraine. So it’s like you said, it’s not like he decided to to go there as a thrill seeker of any sort.’
Elsewhere, Austrian Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic said: ‘The illegitimate verdict is a blatant breach of international law and a provocation by the Russian war party.’
Former care worker Aslin moved from Newark in Nottinghamshire to Ukraine in 2018 after meeting his now-fiancee. In the same year he became a marine with the Ukrainian military. Pinner, an ex-British Army soldier originally from Bedfordshire, moved to Ukraine four years ago to join the Ukrainian military.
The two Britons surrendered in April in Mariupol, the southern port city that was captured by Russian troops after a brutal weeks-long siege that all but levelled the city. They later appeared on Russian TV calling on Johnson to negotiate their release. Brahim surrendered in March in the eastern town of Volnovakha.
‘The Supreme Court of the DPR passed the first sentence on mercenaries – the British Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan Saadun Brahim were sentenced to death, RIA Novosti correspondent reports from the courtroom,’ RIA said on the Telegram messaging app.
Aiden Aslin (second-left) and Shaun Pinner (second-right) – along with Moroccan national Saaudun Brahim (right) – were all captured while fighting in Ukraine. Pictured: The three men in court on Thursday where they were handed the death sentence
The sentencing came as Russian President Vladimir Putin met with young entrepreneurs in Moscow on Thursday (pictured)
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets young entrepreneurs in Moscow on June 9, 2022
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss condemned the sentences as a ‘sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy’ in a statement
Aiden (circled) was serving with Ukraine’s 36th Marine Brigade, but his communication with the outside world via social media became increasingly sporadic as his team was surrounded by Russian forces bombarding the city of Mariupol
Judge Alexander Nikulin said: ‘The aggregated penalty for the crimes [means] the sentence Aiden Aslin to an exceptional measure of punishment, the death penalty.
‘The aggregated penalty for the crimes [means] the sentence [of] Shaun Pinner to an exceptional measure of punishment, the death penalty.’
The judge did not mention another British detainee Andrew Hill, 35, a father of four from Plymouth, who surrendered separately to Vladimir Putin’s forces, but who has also been warned about a death penalty.
The sentence was issued after a three day trial in which the five ‘witnesses’ in the case did not appear. The three men stood in a court cage.
Aslin and Pinner are said to have admitted ‘training in order to carry out terrorist activities,’ before appearing again on Thursday when they were sentenced.
It is believed the men will be permitted to lodge an appeal within one month, and to ask for a pardon from the rebel authorities in Donetsk.
The DPR released a video of the three men being read their sentences.
Aiden Aslin
Born: 1994, Newark-on-Trent
Worked as: Care worker
Combat experience: Travelled to Syria in 2015 to fight for the Kurds in a western-backed alliance against ISIS.
He made headlines on his return to the UK in 2016 when he was arrested, charged with terrorism offences, and then kept on bail until all charges were dropped following protests.
Aslin then returned to Syria in 2017 to help in the fight to re-take the city of Raqqa, which had been the de-facto capital of ISIS’s terror-state.
Journey to Ukraine: After being arrested in the UK a second time trying to return from Syria via Greece, Aslin moved to Ukraine after falling for a woman from the city of Mykolaiv.
Having heard about Ukraine’s fight against Russia in Donbas from Ukrainian volunteers in Syria, he was persuaded to join the military and in 2018 signed up as a marine.
Aslin completed three tours of the frontline and was dug into trenches in the Donbas in late February when Putin’s troops stormed across the border in a second invasion.
He ended up falling back to the nearby city of Mariupol where he fought for weeks under siege, before being captured in April after his unit ran out of ammunition.
Shaun Pinner
Born: 1974, Bedfordshire
Worked as: A British Army veteran, having served for years in the Royal Anglian regiment.
Combat experience: Fought ‘many’ tours including in northern Ireland, according to his family, who said he also served with United Nations missions in Bosnia.
Journey to Ukraine: Pinner moved to Ukraine in 2018 which he made his ‘adopted home’ and decided to put his military training to use fighting Russian-backed rebels in the country’s eastern Donbas.
He became engaged to a Ukrainian woman and worked his way into the marines, where he had been serving for the last two years.
Pinner’s three-year contract with the marines was due to end at the end of this year, his family said, when he wanted to become a humanitarian worker in the country.
Pinner was helping to defend the frontlines in Donbas when Putin’s invasion began on February 24.
His unit of marines ended up hooking up with the Azov Battalion – members of the national guard with links to neo-Nazis – who were defending the city of Mariupol from the Russians.
He was captured in Mariupol in April and paraded on state TV.
Reacting to the news in the UK, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said on Twitter: ‘I utterly condemn the sentencing of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine.
‘They are prisoners of war. This is a sham judgment with absolutely no legitimacy. My thoughts are with the families. We continue to do everything we can to support them.’
A No 10 spokesman said: ‘We have said continually that prisoners of war shouldn’t be exploited for political purposes. You will know that under the Geneva Convention prisoners of war are entitled to combatant immunity and they should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.
‘So we will continue to work with the Ukrainian authorities to try and secure the release of any British nationals who were serving in the Ukrainian armed forces and who are being held as prisoners of war.’
Howard Morrison QC, UK’s Independent war crimes Advisor to Ukraine told BBC’s Newsnight that it was possible the sentences were being used as a ploy to instigate a prisoner swap.
He said: ‘I would hesitate to call it a judicial process, frankly. Judges have to be completely independent and have to act with an eye to due process and the requirements of international law and national law and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Geneva Conventions. I see precious little sign of any of that happening.
‘It’s very unlikely that it’s straightforward. There’s almost certainly going to be a subtext in there somewhere.
‘And the likelihood is that it is for negotiation purposes. In a sense, I hope so, because these men are under the death penalty, and the last thing you want is for that to be implemented.
‘But if it is for negotiation, it’s difficult to see exactly what the subtext is – because the British government isn’t holding any prisoners, it’s the Ukrainians who are holding the prisoners.
‘But the complaints that I saw today reported that came out of Number 10 are, frankly, absolutely spot on. These men are prisoners of war who should be treated according to the Geneva Conventions. There shouldn’t have been a show trial and there certainly shouldn’t have been a death penalty.’
Tory former minister Robert Jenrick, who represents the Newark constituency where Mr Aslin lived, called for the Russian ambassador to the UK to be summoned to the Foreign Office.
He said: ‘This disgusting Soviet-era style show trial is the latest reminder of the depravity of Putin’s regime. Russia should be clear, they cannot treat British citizens like this and get away with it.
Pictured: Shaun Pinner (second right) is seen in this selfie, along with Aiden Aslin (second left)
Thousands killed and roadside graves piled with bodies: The bloody battle for Mariupol
Aslin and Pinner were captured by Russian forces during the long and bloody siege of Mariupol.
The city is now fully in the hands of Russian forces, having been cut off from the rest of Ukraine early in the war and subjected to horrifying barrages and a siege.
Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians fought fiercely to defend the city’s Azovstal steelworks, a key strategic supply point, from Russian invaders.
But despite their valiant efforts, Putin’s forces took control of Azovstal two weeks ago following civilian evacuations.
As many as 2,500 Ukrainian soldiers stayed behind – with Kyiv claiming its troops are now being tortured with pliers and electric shocks.
Civilians were earlier left without heat, food or water for weeks and described melting snow for something to drink before drinking from radiators when the snow ran out.
Mariupol was the scene of perhaps the deadliest single attack of the war when a Russian jet bombed a theatre with the word ‘children’ scrawled on the pavement outside, killing up to 600 people sheltering inside.
Thousands are known to have died in the siege, with their bodies often piled into mass graves hastily dug alongside roads.
But the true toll is thought to be far higher, with many families force to bury relatives killed by the shelling in plots dug into gardens and parks with no tally taken.
City officials estimate at least 20,000 civilians died, but others who remain in the city behind Russian lines and are now helping to dig graves said last week that the true toll could be as high as 50,000.
Mariupol’s pre-war population was some 450,000, meaning more than 10 per cent could have been wiped out.
‘Contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, Aiden Aslin is not a mercenary. He has been living in Ukraine and serving in its armed forces before Russia’s illegal invasion and as a prisoner of war is entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention.
‘The Russian ambassador should be summoned to the Foreign Office to account for this most egregious breach of the Geneva Convention.
‘Aiden must be released as soon as practicable.’
Shadow Europe minister Stephen Doughty said: ‘It is an outrageous and shameful breach of international law for the Russian regime or its puppets to use an illegitimate court to prosecute legitimate prisoners of war who are entitled to combatant immunity.’
James Cleverly, Minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, also took to Twitter to condemn the ‘verdict’. ‘The UK position on the status of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner is clear,’ he said.
‘They are prisoners of war and must be treated as such. The judgment against them has no legitimacy. We will continue to support them.
Stephen Doughty MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Europe, said: ‘It is an outrageous and shameful breach of international law for the Russian regime or its puppets to use an illegitimate court to prosecute legitimate prisoners of war who are entitled to combatant immunity.
‘The international law of armed conflict must be upheld at all times. The FCDO must urgently support the families of these soldiers who will be in deep distress at this time.’
Layla Moran – the Lib Dem foreign affairs spokeswoman – said: ‘This is horrific and a clear breach of international law. My thoughts are with these brave men and their families at this deeply distressing time.
‘It’s vital that the UK Government swiftly engages with international partners – we need a unified front of condemnation at this egregious decision.’
Human rights organisation Amnesty International called the decision ‘grotesque’, saying that Thursday’s court appearance bore all the hallmarks of a show-trial.
‘This is a grotesque decision,’ Amnesty International UK’s Crisis Response Manager, said. ‘This so-called trial always had the appearance of a show trial designed to exert pressure on the UK, and these sentences look like they’re intended to fire a warning shot to the UK over its support for Ukraine in this brutal war.
‘The Geneva Conventions clearly state that prisoners of war must not be tried or sentenced simply for participating in hostilities, and still less should they ever receive death sentences.
‘Russia and its proxies in the Donetsk People’s Republic will be adding to a massive catalogue of war crimes if they attempt to carry out these sentences.
‘The UK and the UN and other bodies should inform Moscow that these sentences are completely unacceptable and must be quashed immediately.’
The court in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) – one of two self-proclaimed break-away states in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region – is not internationally recognised
Two Britons sentenced to death after being captured by Russian forces: The human rights implications and what happens next
Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have today been sentenced to death and are set to face a firing squad after a sham three-day trial, sparking outrage from the UK and its Western allies.
They were last night convicted of being ‘mercenaries’ at a court in territory occupied by the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.
But the men insist they were serving in the Ukrainian marines, which makes them active-duty soldiers who should be protected by the Geneva Convention as prisoners of war.
It means the sentencing has huge human rights implications.
Both men have said they plan to appeal the sentencing which, if successful, may see a 25-year prison sentence passed instead.
While there is a moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, no such measure is in place in the rebel-held territory in Donetsk.
Russia is believed to be using the death sentence as a way of applying pressure on the UK with a view to a prisoner exchange for Russian troops facing war crime charges related to the invasion.
Human rights organisation Amnesty International called the decision ‘grotesque’, saying that Thursday’s court appearance bore all the hallmarks of a show-trial.
‘This is a grotesque decision,’ Amnesty International UK’s Crisis Response Manager, said. ‘This so-called trial always had the appearance of a show trial designed to exert pressure on the UK, and these sentences look like they’re intended to fire a warning shot to the UK over its support for Ukraine in this brutal war.
‘The Geneva Conventions clearly state that prisoners of war must not be tried or sentenced simply for participating in hostilities, and still less should they ever receive death sentences.
‘Russia and its proxies in the Donetsk People’s Republic will be adding to a massive catalogue of war crimes if they attempt to carry out these sentences.
‘The UK and the UN and other bodies should inform Moscow that these sentences are completely unacceptable and must be quashed immediately.’
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said the pair were prisoners of war, while Newark MP Robert Jenrick added that they are ‘entitled to protection under the Geneva Convention’.
RIA news agency said Sunday that the investigation found Aslin had taken part in ‘the armed aggression of Ukraine to forcibly seize power in the republic for a reward.’
‘The criminal case was sent to court, the first hearing will be held soon,’ it noted.
The announcement from the DPR Prosecutor General’s Office, which was posted to Telegram, said Mr Aslin had been charged with four separate offences: Committing a crime as part of a criminal group; forcible seizure of power or forcible retention of power; being a mercenary; and the promotion of training in terrorist activities.
‘Taking into account wartime, on the basis of the provisions of the current main law, according to the results of the trial, the mercenary may be assigned an exceptional measure of punishment – the death penalty,’ the statement said.
Aslin had previously travelled to Syria in 2015 to fight for the Kurds in a western-backed alliance against ISIS, and he made headlines on his return to the UK in 2016 when he was arrested and charged with terrorism offences. All charges were dropped.
Aslin then returned to Syria in 2017 to help in the fight to re-take the city of Raqqa, which had been the de-facto capital of ISIS’s terror-state.
After being arrested in the UK a second time trying to return from Syria via Greece, Aslin moved to Ukraine after falling for Diane.
Having heard about the fight against Russia in Donbas from Ukrainian volunteers in Syria, he was persuaded to join the military and in 2018 signed up as a marine.
Aslin completed three tours of the frontline and was dug into trenches in the Donbas in late February when Putin’s troops stormed across the border in a second invasion.
However, his unit surrendered to the invaders two days ago after they ran out of supplies and ammunition following 48 days of conflict in and around the besieged port city.
Pinner, meanwhile, is a former Royal Anglian soldier originally from Bedfordshire. He also fought alongside Ukrainian resistance fighters. He had moved to Ukraine four years before joining Ukrainian marines.
In footage shared by Ria Novosti on social media on Wednesday, a translator can be heard asking Mr Aslin if he would ‘plead guilty’ to an offence, to which he replied: ‘Yes.’
Ria Novosti reported yesterday that the charge carries a term of 15 to 20 years’ imprisonment with restriction of freedom for a term of one to two years or life imprisonment.
The video appeared to show the two Britons in the dock in the pro-Russian territory’s supreme court alongside a third man, reported to be Mr Brahim.
On Wednesday, the Foreign Office condemned the exploitation of prisoners of war for political purposes in the wake of the footage being released, and said it was working with the Ukrainian government on the issue of British captives.
Jenrick said Wednesday Mr Aslin should be returned home at the earliest opportunity, possibly through a prisoner exchange.
A former care worker, Mr Aslin (pictured left) moved to Ukraine after falling for his now-wife Diane (pictured right), who is originally from the city of Mykolaiv – found about 260 miles west of Mariupol, along the coast. She is reported to have moved to the UK to be with his family
Aiden had been fighting Russian forces in Mariupol as a fully paid member of Ukraine’s army, but surrendered to the invaders two days ago after his team ran out of supplies and ammunition following 48 days of conflict in and around the besieged port city
Pinner is a former Royal Anglian soldier originally from Bedfordshire
The MP condemned the ‘trumped-up charges’ faced by both Britons and accused Russia of a ‘completely outrageous breach of international law’.
On Monday, Dominic Raab said the Foreign Office will ‘make all the representations’ on Mr Aslin’s behalf and his family have also issued an emotional statement calling for his release.
They said: ‘We, the family of Aiden Aslin, wish to ask for privacy at this time from the media. This is a very sensitive and emotional time for our family, and we would like to say thank you to all that have supported us.
‘We are currently working with the Ukrainian government and the Foreign Office to try and bring Aiden home. Aiden is a much-loved man and very much missed, and we hope that he will be released very soon.’
A Foreign Office spokesperson said: ‘We are working with the government of Ukraine on the detention of British Nationals.
‘We condemn the exploitation of Prisoners of War for political purposes. They are entitled to combatant immunity and should not be prosecuted for participation in hostilities.’
Western countries have provided weapons and aid for Ukraine since the February 24 invasion, while a number of people from abroad have come to fight against Russian forces.
The fiercest fighting is now focused on Severodonetsk in the Lugansk region, where Ukrainian officials say their outgunned forces are still holding out amid street battles despite the city being mostly under Russian control.
The regional governor of Lugansk – also part of the Donbas – said Western artillery would quickly help secure a Ukrainian victory for the bombarded city.
‘As soon as we have long-range artillery to be able to conduct duels with Russian artillery, our special forces can clean up the city in two to three days,’ governor Sergiy Gaiday said.
People walk their bikes across the street as smoke rises above a plant of Azovstal Iron and Steel Works during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, May 2
A view of the destruction of the city of besieged Mariupol in Ukraine on March 26
In his evening address to the Ukrainian people on Wednesday, Zelensky said the battle for the city was ‘probably one of the most difficult throughout this war.
‘In many ways, the fate of our Donbas is being decided there.’
Up to 100 Ukrainian soldiers were being killed every day in frontline fighting and as many as 500 wounded, Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said.
The city of Lysychansk, which is separated from Severodonetsk by a river, is still in Ukrainian hands but under fierce Russian bombardment.
After being repelled from Kyiv following their February 24 invasion, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops have refocused their offensive on the Donbas.
Pro-Russian separatists have held part of that region since 2014.
Moscow, which has repeatedly warned the West against getting involved in the conflict, said it had targeted a Ukrainian training centre for ‘foreign mercenaries’ in the Zhytomyr region, west of Kyiv.
The Ukrainian presidency said four people were killed in a Russian air strike on Toshkivka, a village around 14 miles south of Severodonetsk.
Four more people were killed in fighting in Donetsk and shelling killed two in the north-eastern city of Kharkiv, it said. Another person was killed in the Mykolayiv region in the south.
The war’s shockwaves are spreading around the world. At the United Nations, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres added his voice to increasingly dire warnings.
‘For people around the world, the war is threatening to unleash an unprecedented wave of hunger and destitution, leaving social and economic chaos in its wake,’ he said.
Zelensky on Thursday called for Russia to be expelled from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), blaming Moscow for ‘causing hunger’ and spurring the global grain crisis by invading his country.
Another day, another two Russian colonels killed in Ukraine: Putin loses one of his youngest commanders as bitter fighting for Severodonetsk rages on in battle that will decide fate of Donbas
Vladimir Putin has lost two more colonels in Ukraine – including one of Russia’s youngest to reach such a high rank – as a video showed a Russian battalion being hit with artillery fire while attempting to rescue a casualty.
Elsewhere, in another blow to the Kremlin’s war efforts, a separate video released this week showed Ukrainian bombs destroying a Russian ammo depo in a huge ball of flames. Images released by Kyiv also appeared to show a destroyed Russian unit.
These are the latest examples of Ukraine’s forces putting up a fierce resistance against Putin’s invading forces. Moscow expected to capture Kyiv within days of invading on February 24, but its forces have instead been drawn into a protracted conflict that has resulted in tens-of-thousands Russian military losses.
Meanwhile, bitter fighting for the eastern city of Severodonetsk continued to rage on Thursday, after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the fate of the whole Donbas region hinges on the ‘very fierce’ battle.
The deaths of the two high-ranking military figures mean the Kremlin has seen at least 52 colonels killed during the bloody conflict.
Lt-Col Vadim Gerasimov, aged only 36, a battalion from Leningrad region, was posthumously awarded a Hero of Russia – the country’s highest honour – on Putin’s orders. His widow was also expected to receive his posthumous Order of Courage.
His funeral was being held on Thursday in Russia’s Leningrad region. A graduate of the prestigious Frunze military academy, he was the father of a daughter.
Details of his citation for the Hero of Russia award were not immediately available.
The second high-ranked officer whose death was revealed today is Colonel Ruslan Shirin, a brigade commander, who ‘heroically died in battle’.
He was chief of staff of the 336th Separate Guards Marine Brigade, part of the Baltic Fleet. He was posthumously awarded the Order of Courage.
It was not clear how and where in the Ukrainian war zone the colonels were killed.
Reports of their deaths came as a video showed a Russian battalion being shelled by Ukrainian forces as they attempted rescue a casualty.
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Lt-Col Vadim Gerasimov (pictured left), aged only 36, was a battalion from Leningrad region. He was killed in Ukraine, as was Colonel Ruslan Shirin, a brigade commander (pictured right)
Pictured: Russian soldiers are seen trying to recover and injured comrade on a road in Ukraine
As the soldiers tried to drag their comrade back towards their armoured vehicle, a Ukrainian air strike landed feet away from the vehicle
Pictured: Russian soldiers are seen injured next to an armoured vehicle after Ukrainian artiller fire landed just feet away from their vehicle
The aerial footage, showing a dirt road running through some woodland, saw Russian soldiers trying to drag their fallen comrade back to what appealed to be an armoured personnel carrier.
Suddenly, a large explosion rocked the soldiers as Ukrainian artillery landed just feet away from the armoured vehicle. Smoke covered the scene as the soldiers attempted to crawl back to vehicle in a desperate attempt to escape. Reports suggested at least one soldier was killed in the strike, and others injured.
Elsewhere, more aerial footage showed a Ukrainian attack on a Russian ammunition dump on Wednesday in Voskresenka, Zaporizhia Oblast, in Ukrainian territory that is currently held by the Russian invaders.
The attack was carried out by members of the 44th Artillery Brigade of the Ukrainian Ground Forces with the support of aerial reconnaissance by the 81st Airmobile Brigade of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, the 44th said.
Video of the attack showed a series of massive explosions as Ukrainian artillery hit its mark, igniting munitions inside the warehouse – some of which could be seen firing off in different directions into the air above the building.
Initial strikes appeared to only collapse the roof and cause a number of smaller fires, but as the attack continued, one huge fireball erupted from the warehouse, ripping it apart and destroying at least half the building completely.
According to the Daily Express, a 15-year-old boy used a camera drone to locate the warehouse, which in-turn allowed Ukraine’s military to target it.
The brigade said on 8th June: ‘Artillerymen of the 44th OAbr of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the support of aerial reconnaissance of the 81st brigade of the 5th BTGR, bombed the accumulation of enemy equipment and ammunition in the Pologovsky district.
‘It is known that Russian troops fired at three settlements in the Pologovsky district. Enemy shells hit Gulyaipole, the villages of Dobropolye and Upper Tersa.
‘Earlier, the Russian military left some positions in the Melitopol and Vasilyevsky regions. As it became known, they moved in the direction of Kherson region.’
Pictured: A warehouse in Ukraine being used by Russian forces to store ammunition, moments before it was targeted by Ukrainian artillery fire
Smoke is seen rising from the Russian ammo dump as it comes under attack by Ukainian artillery. The first strikes caused smaller explosions and fires in the warehouse
Suddenly, a huge fireball was seen erupting from the ammo dump as the aummunition inside caught fire when it came under attack by Ukrainian missiles, destroying the building
The deaths of the two colonels were revealed two days after the 50th colonel – artillery commander Lt Col Vladimir Nigmatullin, 46 – was confirmed dead.
Russia recently lost its 11th general of the conflict, Major-General Roman Kutuzov was the chief of staff of the 29th Combined Arms Army.
He was awarded a posthumous promotion to Lieutenant-General.
Some sources have claimed that Russia lost a second and more senior general – Lieutenant-General Roman Berdnikov, 47 – in the same incident in Donetsk region.
There have been claims that Ukraine has received Western intelligence assistance to target Putin’s commanders in the field, in an attempt to weaken the morale of Russian forces.
Whether or not this is the case, a large number of high ranking officers have been killed, with almost one colonel every two days in the war.
The news came after a mercenary who gained notoriety for butchering prisoners of war and civilians in the Donbas was also been killed, in another blow to Putin.
Vladimir Andonov, 44, a fighter for the shadowy Wagner Group, was shot by a sniper near Kharkiv during a reconnaissance missions on June 5, Russian media says.
Andonov was known to Russians as ‘Vakha’ or ‘the volunteer from Buryatia’ after the region he was from, but to Ukrainians as ‘the executioner’ for massacres he helped carry out during Russia’s first invasion of the country in 2014.is death was confirmed by Zhambal-Zhamso Zhanaev, head of the region where Andonov was from, who spoke to Russian newspaper Moskovskij Komsomolets.
TIMELINE: 100 days of war in Ukraine
Russia invaded Ukraine in the early hours of February 24, setting off the worst conflict in Europe in decades.
As Russia extends its grip over the east, we look back on 100 days of fighting that has killed tens of thousands of civilians and reduced entire cities to rubble.
February 24: Russia invades – Russian President Vladimir Putin announces a ‘special military operation’ to ‘demilitarise’ and ‘de-Nazify’ the former Soviet state and protect Russian speakers there.
A full-scale invasion starts with air and missile strikes on several cities. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky pledges to stay in Kyiv to lead the resistance.
February 26: Massive sanctions – West adopts unprecedented sanctions against Russia and offers Ukraine military aid.
Air spaces are closed to Russian aircraft and Russia is kicked out of sporting and cultural events.
February 27: Nuclear threat – Putin puts Russia’s nuclear forces on high alert, in what is seen as a warning to the West not to intervene in Ukraine.
February 28: First talks – During the first peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow, Russia demands recognition of its sovereignty over Crimea, the ‘demilitarisation’ and ‘de-Nazification’ of Ukraine and a guarantee Ukraine will never join NATO. Ukraine demands a complete Russian withdrawal.
March 3: Kherson falls – Russian troops attack Ukraine’s south coast to try to link up territory held by pro-Moscow rebels in eastern Ukraine with the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula.
On March 3, Kherson in the south becomes the first city to fall. Russian forces relentlessly shell the port of Mariupol.
March 4: Media crackdown – Russia passes a law punishing what it calls ‘fake news’ about its offensive – such as referring to its ‘special military operation’ as an invasion – with up to 15 years in prison.
March 16: Mariupol theatre razed – Russian air strikes raze a Mariupol theatre killing an estimated 300 people sheltering inside. Moscow blames the attack on Ukraine’s nationalist Azov battalion.
March 16: Zelensky lobbies Congress – Zelensky tells the US Congress to ‘remember Pearl Harbor’ and lobbies Western parliaments for more help.
April 2-3: Horror in Bucha – After a month of fighting, Russia withdraws from northern Ukraine, announcing it will focus its efforts on conquering the eastern Donbas region.
On April 2 and 3, Ukrainians find dozens of corpses of civilians scattered on the street or buried in shallow graves in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which Russian forces had occupied.
Moscow dismisses accusations of Russian war crimes, saying the images of the bodies are fakes.
April 8: Train station carnage – A rocket attack on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk kills at least 57 civilians being evacuated from Donbas.
April 12: Biden speaks of ‘genocide’ – Biden accuses Russia of ‘genocide’, saying Putin appears intent on ‘trying to wipe out the idea of even being able to be a Ukrainian’.
April 14: Flagship sinks – Ukrainian missiles hit and sink Russia’s missile cruiser Moskva in the Black Sea, a major setback for Moscow.
May 11: $40 billion in US aid – US lawmakers back a huge $40-billion package of military, economic and humanitarian aid for Ukraine.
May 16: Kharkiv retreat – Ukraine says its troops have driven Russian forces back from the outskirts of the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, to the Russian border.
May 18: Sweden, Finland apply to NATO – Finland and Sweden apply to join NATO, reversing decades of military non-alignment because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
May 23: First war crimes conviction – A Ukrainian court finds a 21-year-old Russian soldier guilty of war crimes and hands down a life sentence for shooting dead a 62-year-old civilian in northeastern Ukraine in the opening days of the war. He has appealed.
May 21: Battle for Mariupol ends – Russia declares it is in full control of Mariupol after Ukraine ordered troops holding out for weeks in the Azovstal steelworks to lay down their arms to save their lives.
Nearly 2,500 soldiers surrender and are taken prisoner by Russia.
May 30: EU bans most Russian oil – EU leaders overcome resistance from Hungary to agree a partial ban on most Russian oil imports as part of a sixth wave of sanctions.
The deal bans oil imports delivered by tanker but allows landlocked countries such as Hungary to continue receiving Russian oil by pipeline.
May 31: Russia seizes part of eastern city – Russian troops seize part of the key eastern Ukrainian city of Severodonetsk, its governor says. Taking the city would give Russia de-facto control over Lugansk, one of two regions that make up the Donbas, Ukraine’s industrial heartland.
July 3: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine enters its 100th day. Britain’s defence ministry said Moscow has failed to achieve its initial objectives to seize Kyiv and centres of government but is achieving tactical success in the Donbas.
Reporting by AFP
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