January 5, 2023 11.00 am This story is over 17 months old

Aiden Aslin on mental scars from Russian capture – and predicting Ukraine victory

Aslin was captured by Russian troops last year and sentenced to death
By Local Democracy Reporter

Returned prisoner of war Aiden Aslin has said that his five-month capture at the hands of Russian forces “took its toll mentally” – as he suggests that Ukraine could end up winning the war due to their resistance efforts against Russia.

The 28-year-old returned home to Nottinghamshire near the border with Lincolnshire last year, as one of five prisoners of war negotiated to be brought back to their homes – following capture by Russian forces during the nation’s conflict with Ukraine.

Aslin had been serving in the Ukrainian military since 2018, meeting his fiance and becoming a resident of the country before his capture in the port city of Mariupol in April 2022.

He previously recalled being treated “worse than a dog” during a five-month stint in solitary confinement, which Aslin says consisted of interrogations and beatings if he did not conform to the officers’ ways.

Aiden was sentenced to death at an internationally unrecognised court, alongside fellow Brit Shaun Pinner and a Moroccan national, as the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic judges deemed the trio to be mercenaries without offering the opportunity to defend themselves or have witness evidence taken.

This thankfully never happened in the end, and a deal was negotiated between the United Kingdom, Russia and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia to bring five UK nationals, including Aiden Aslin, back home in September.

Since his return from capture, Aslin has maintained active on the Russia/Ukraine conflict via his social media channels, where he regularly shares messages of support to the Ukrainian people – as well as submitted videos of the scene in the Eastern European country.