your name is Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin the two British nationals who were captured Mariupolin southern Ukraine, and who asked to be swapped with Ukrainian proRussian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchukunder custody of the Armed Forces of Kyiv. Pinner is a former Royal Anglian soldier and it was he who also spoke on behalf of Aslin in the video message. He explained on Russian television that he was captured in Mariupol while fighting with the Ukrainian Navy. His family described him in a statement released by the UK Foreign Office as a “jolly, wellloved, wellmeaning man” and consider Ukraine “his adopted country”.
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Who is Shaun Pinner?
“Shaun was a distinguished soldier in the British Army who served for many years in the Royal Anglian Regiment. He has served in many areas including Northern Ireland and at the United Nations in Bosnia,” family members said. “In 2018, Shaun decided to move to Ukraine to use his experience and training in the Ukrainian Army,” the statement said. “For four years Shaun has enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life and considers Ukraine his adopted country. During this time he met his Ukrainian wife, who cares deeply about the country’s humanitarian needs. In Ukraine, the British citizen had become “a proud member of the Ukrainian marines”.
The declaration of the family in which he lives Great Britain He specifies: «We want to clarify that he is not a volunteer or a mercenary, but he officially serves in the Ukrainian army in accordance with Ukrainian legislation». The 48yearold, from Bedfordshire, told The Mail on Sunday: “I’m scared for my life. The Russians will treat us differently if we get caught because we’re British. I always have in the back of my mind that I will be caught».
The Story of Aiden Aslin
Originally from Nottinghamshire, Aiden Aslin had been defending Mariupol with his unit for the past few weeks before surrendering after 48 days. A post on his Twitter account, managed by a friend while he was fighting with the Ukrainian Navy, read: “We have no food or ammunition.” The 28yearold was filmed handcuffed with a cut on his chest Forehead carried around after he surrendered last week. Before his fight against the Russians in the Donbass, Aslin had sided with the Kurdish militias of the YPG in northern Syria’s Rovaja against the jihadists of the Islamic State (Isis).