Ukraine, who are the two British sentenced to death

Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, the two British citizens sentenced to death by the ‘Supreme Court’ of the self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk, were captured in April in Mariupol in southern Ukraine by pro-Russian militias. They had asked to be swapped with Ukrainian pro-Russian opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk, in custody of the Kiev forces, but their appeal was not heeded. Pinner is a former Royal Anglian soldier born 48 years ago in Bedfordshire. It was he, in a video message on Russian television, who announced the capture of him and Aslin in Mariupol while fighting with the Ukrainian marines. His family described him as a “funny, much loved, well-meaning man” and consider Ukraine “his adopted country”. “Shaun has been a respected soldier within the British Army serving in the Royal Anglian Regiment for many years. He has served in many areas, including Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia,” they said. family members. “In 2018 Shaun decided to move to Ukraine to use his experience and training within the army,” the note reads. “For the past four years, Shaun has enjoyed the Ukrainian lifestyle and considered the Ukraine as his adopted country. During this time he met his Ukrainian wife who is very attentive to the country’s humanitarian needs. ” In Ukraine, the British citizen has become “a proud member of the Ukrainian marines.” Aiden Aslin is a native of Nottinghamshire and had defended Mariupol with his unit in recent weeks before having to surrender after 48 days. A post on his Twitter account, managed by a friend while fighting with the Ukrainian marines, read: “We have no food or ammunition.” Shortly after his capture, the 28-year-old was filmed being carried around in handcuffs with a cut on his forehead after he surrendered. Before going to fight the Russians in the Donbass, Aslin had sided with the Kurdish militias of the Ypg in Rovaja, in northern Syria, against the jihadists of the Islamic State (Isis).