Shaun Pinner, a 48-year-old former British soldier, was fighting alongside Ukrainian Marines against Russian forces that invaded almost two months ago. He appeared in a short propaganda video that was broadcast by the Russian media on Saturday night. In the video he says: “Hi, this is Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. I was arrested in Mariupol. I am a member of the 36th Brigade of the First Battalion of Ukrainian Marines. “I fought in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People’s Republic.” Mr Pinner, originally from Bedfordshire, was fighting alongside his friend Aiden Aslin, 28, of Nottinghamshire, the first British volunteer to be captured by Russian forces. Mr Ashlin is the first British volunteer to be arrested by Russian forces (Twitter) Piner reportedly moved to Ukraine four years ago and lived with his wife in Donbass, where he fought Kremlin-backed separatists before Russia began its full-scale invasion. He told the Mail on Sunday in January: “I am here to defend my family and my adopted city. Russia started this war. “It is funded by Russia and led by Russia, but we will fight them, make no mistake about it.” A picture posted on Mr Aslin’s Twitter account, which is currently being managed by one of his friends, shows the Briton in handcuffs, with damage to his eyes and forehead. A caption on the Twitter post read: “Once I got this, it looks like they have understood Eden.” Mr. Aslin moved to Ukraine in 2018 and later joined the nation’s armed forces, but was forced to surrender two days ago after Russian attacks cut off supplies and ammunition in the besieged port city. This map shows the extent of the Russian invasion of Ukraine (Press Association) Jayson Pihajlic, who fought against Islamic State alongside Pinner and Aslin in the Syrian Democratic Forces, said the men were “role models for democracy” fighting “as volunteers, not as mercenaries”. He told the Guardian: “It’s horrible to see that. They are obviously being beaten and that is the least we can say – who knows what else is going on. “They are described as mercenaries, but these guys are not mercenaries – they are regular, uniformed, Ukrainian soldiers.” The Independent has a proud campaign history for the rights of the most vulnerable and we first launched our “Welcome Refugees” campaign during the war in Syria in 2015. Now, as we renew our campaign and start this report on In the wake of the unfolding Ukrainian crisis, we call on the government to move faster and faster to secure aid. To learn more about our Refugee Campaign, click here. To sign the application click here. If you would like to donate, click here for our GoFundMe page.
