The time of propaganda on Russia’s aggression and violation of the Geneva Convention on prisoners of war has already begun. Two British soldiers, that is was acquired in Ukraine when they were fighting for the country’s forces, they appeared on Russian state television and asked to be traded a pro-Kremlin politician arrested.

not specified who keeps them at present: whether Russian forces or their separatist allies in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.

Britons Shaun Pinner, 48, and Aiden Aslin, 27, were defending the southern city of Mariupol with Ukrainian marines when they were caught. On Monday they appeared on television in Russia and asked Boris Johnson help them get home.

prisoner exchange

They demanded release in return Viktor Medvedchuka Ukrainian opposition figure, formerly described as “the right hand of President Putin ”in kyiv. It is not clear how freely the two Britons speak, as an unknown man prompted them to speak.

In a separate video released Monday by Ukrainians, Medvedchuk called on Putin and President Zelensky to exchange him for Ukrainian soldiers, who were captured by Russian forces.

The 67-year-old opposition leader was caught by Ukrainian secret services last week after fleeing from house arrest three days after the raid. His wife suggested swapping it with the two British.

Veteran of Afghanistan

Pinner, a former British soldier from Watford, said he fought in Mariupol for five or six weeks and now he is in the “Donetsk People’s Republic”, a breakaway state. Aslin, a former health worker from Nottinghamshire, was shown handcuffed and beaten in a propaganda clip after he was arrested last week.

Pinner served with the Royal Anglian Regiment for nine years. His Facebook posts indicate that he was in Bosnia for the UN Protection Force in the 1990s. He joined the fight against ISIS, along with the Kurdish People’s Protection units, known as the YPG, in Syria.

A statement from his family on Sunday night Pinner said “He’s not a volunteer or a mercenary” . He has served in the Ukrainian Army since 2018, since he became a Marine.

They said they were working with the Foreign Office “to ensure that Russia respects its rights as a prisoner of war, under the Geneva Conventions.”

the british chancery has interacted with families of two men supporting them.

Earlier this weekend, state television channel NTV showed 48-year-old Shaun Pinner looking tired, saying he was serving in the 36th Marine Brigade “who surrendered a few days ago”. . Only Pinner’s head and shoulders can be seen in the video. He spoke clearly and without emotion. He was not found injured.

“We are in the industrial zone of Mariupol. It was decided to leave the area, but I can’t say exactly where. We will start moving at four o’clock on Tuesday. We are taking the wounded. The mortar and artillery fire started and there was panic. It looks like panic. I lost my commander. We were abandoned. I don’t know what happened to the wounded or to the bodies of the dead, “Pinner said.

In 2019, Pinner was interviewed for a YouTube video about how he signed up to fight in the Donbas alongside Ukrainian loyalists in their conflict with the separatists. “I believe in reason, obviously, but I want to try myself, experience cultures,” Emile Ghesson, a former Royal Marine commando, told the documentary filmmaker.

They are not mercenaries

Pinner’s family added: “Shaun is a dearly loved and well -meaning husband, son, father, brother and friend. We hope for a quick resolution to allow Shaun and Aiden to return safely and seek privacy at this difficult time. Our hearts reflect on all those caught up in this horrible battle. “

The two recordings were shown as interviews with journalist Andreï Roudenko, from public television in Russia (VGTRK). The latter showed the two men a video posted last week by Oksana Marchenko, the wife of Viktor Medvedchuk, who called on her husband to swap against the two Britons.

Then, the detainees turned to English to ask for a replacement. The place of his detention was not specified.

Paris, correspondent

ap