It was not clear how freely the two men – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin – could speak. The two spoke separately at the urging of an unknown man in footage broadcast by state television channel Rossiya 24. The two men asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help bring them home in exchange for the release of captive oligarch Mr Medvedchuk from Ukraine, who appeared in a video released around the same time on Monday by the SBU intelligence service. of Ukraine to request that he also be exchanged. The families of Mr Pinner and Ms Aslin have stated that British nationals are not mercenaries or volunteers and should therefore be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention. Piner, a former British Army soldier, appeared tired on Russian state television video as he said he was arrested in Mariupol while fighting Ukrainian Marines. The 48-year-old added that he had been fighting in the besieged city for five to six weeks, but was now in the breakaway region of Donetsk. In a highly edited second video, Mr Piner, originally from Bedfordshire, appeared to have been asked by a Russian journalist how he had been arrested. He replied: “We were in the area of the Mariupol factory. “In the early hours of Tuesday morning it was decided to move out of the factory area, but we did not know exactly where. “At about four in the morning we left the factory.” “There was not much time to think,” he said. The Russian journalist then appeared to tell Piner that his Ukrainian commanders wanted him killed. Mr Pinner spoke of his fear of being arrested in January, telling the Mail on Sunday: “I’m afraid for my life. The Russians will treat us differently if they capture us because we are British. It is always on my mind that I was arrested “. In a statement issued by the Office of Foreign Affairs, Commonwealth and Development (FCDO) after his release, Mr Pinner’s family explained how he was involved in defending Ukraine, which he considers his “adopted country”. The statement said: “Shaun was a respected British Army soldier who served in the Royal English Regiment for many years. He has toured extensively, including in Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia. “In 2018, Shaun decided to relocate to Ukraine to use his previous experience and training in the Ukrainian army. “Shaun has enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life and considered Ukraine as his adopted country for the last four years. During this period, he met his Ukrainian wife, who is very focused on the country’s humanitarian needs. “He promoted to the Ukrainian Marines as a proud member of his unit.” The statement added: “We would like to make it clear that he is not a volunteer or a mercenary, but is serving in the Ukrainian army in accordance with Ukrainian law. Mr Ashlin, from Newark to Nottingham, was filmed being handcuffed with a cut on his forehead after being handed over to the Russian army in Mariupol last week. The 28-year-old was defending Mariupol with his unit during fierce battles in the last weeks before he had to surrender after 48 days. “We have no food or ammunition,” he wrote in a Twitter account, which was run by a friend while he was fighting Ukrainian Marines. Mr Ashlin’s grandmother said a video on Russian television showing him saying Ukraine was not making the “right decisions” was “propaganda”. Angela Wood’s mother told Sky News that her son should be treated as a legal prisoner of war, after reports in the Russian media reported that he was a mercenary after his arrest. Ms Wood told Sky News on Friday: “He is not a mercenary, he is not a volunteer, he did not go out last month and he thought ‘I will fight, I will get the glory’. “He has been out there for four years and is a legal Ukrainian Marine.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 2:04 British prisoner held by Russians The Foreign Office is in contact with and supporting the families of Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin. However, the UK ‘s ability to receive information and provide consular services on the ground is very limited due to the conflict. Meanwhile, Mr. Medvedchuk, in his appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, asked to exchange with the defenders of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and any civilians allowed to leave. The imprisoned politician is the leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life party and is an ally of Putin. It was not clear how freely the arrested politician spoke in the video. Mr Medvedchuk said he had “appealed to the Ukrainian side to exchange me with the defenders of Mariupol and that its citizens who are there today have no chance of a safe exit through a humanitarian corridor”. He was placed under house arrest last year on charges of treason and terrorist financing, which he denies. Mr Medvedchuk escaped a few days after the start of the Russian invasion in February, but was later arrested by Ukraine.
