A Briton who was captured fighting for Ukraine in the besieged city of Mariupol appeared bloodied and beaten while being paraded on Russian state television on Thursday.
Aiden Aslin, 27, was first seen handcuffed in a photo posted by a pro-Kremlin Twitter account calling him “an English mercenary fighting on the side of the Nazis in Mariupol,” according to The Telegraph.
The man from Nottinghamshire – the first known prisoner of war in the UK – was later called “odious” because he was facing Russian state television and asked if he was responsible for any killings.
“I don’t know,” he said nervously in English. “I haven’t fought battles.”
A Twitter account nicknamed Aslin, the Cossack Gundi, also shared an image, noting the bloodied forehead and injured eye of the Marine.
“I just got this, it looks like they got Aiden. The F-king’s vomiting also irritated his appearance, “the site said of the image, which shows the former caregiver’s distinctive tattoos, including one with a Happy Days crossroads.
“We will keep an eye on him every day until he is exchanged” when exchanging prisoners, the account vows.
Britain’s Aiden Aslin was captured by Russians while fighting for Ukraine in the city of Mariupol. Twitter / @cossackgundi Photos of Aslin in custody were posted by a pro-Kremlin Twitter account.
One of Aslin’s friends confirmed to the Telegraph that it was the British citizen who joined the Ukrainian Marines in 2018 after moving there to be with his fiancée. As a registered member, he is not a mercenary.
Before surrendering on Tuesday, he sent one last message to his Twitter account.
“48 days have passed, we have done everything possible to defend Mariupol, but we have no choice but to surrender to Russian forces. We don’t have food or ammunition, “he said, according to the page.
It was a pleasure for everyone … I hope this war ends soon.
Aslin joined the Ukrainian Marines in 2018 after moving to the country. Twitter / @cossackgundi
The Kremlin later claimed that 1,026 Marines – including 162 officers – waved a white flag “as a result of successful attacks by Russian armed forces and militias of the Donetsk People’s Republic”, referring to pro-Russian rebel Ukrainian forces.
Before the photo appeared on Wednesday, a U.S. Tennessee serviceman who fought with Aslin in Syria in 2015 admitted he feared the worst.
“I’m worried he’s going to be tortured, I’m worried he’s going to be killed – they’re going to distort it because he’s a foreign mercenary or part of a paramilitary organization,” Brennan Phillips, 36, told the Times of London.
Aslin recently wrote on Twitter that he had no choice but to surrender to Russian forces. Twitter / @cossackgundi
“Any excuse they can use to harass him. This worries me the most.
“We are not dealing with people who respect international norms – civilians are fair play, hospitals are fair play – the systematic rape of women,” said Phillips, who was in regular contact with his British friend during the war.
He stressed that it was not only the Russians who posed a threat of war crimes – “the Chechens are even worse”, he told the British newspaper.
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