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The sister of Shaun Pinner, one of two British fighters being held by Russian forces after being captured in Ukraine, has hinted that his family has been in discussions about a prisoner swap.
Cassandra Pinner, 43, confirmed earlier today that Shaun’s family is aware he has appeared in Russian videos asking for a prisoner exchange, after releasing a statement last night petitioning Russian forces to treat Shaun well in captivity.
Shaun and Aiden Aslin, who had been serving in the Ukrainian marines, were captured by Putin‘s troops in the city of Mariupol last week and were dragged on state TV today to ask for a prisoner swap for Kremlin ally Viktor Medvedchuk.
‘We have been made aware that Shaun is in another video asking for a prisoner exchange,’ Cassandra said today.
‘A prisoner exchange is a move that is being considered, not necessarily with Viktor Medvedchuk, but it’s something being discussed.’
Medvedchuk – known both as the ‘prince of darkness’ and Putin’s ‘grey cardinal’ – is one of Ukraine’s richest men and the Russian strongman’s closest political ally in the country, having helped exert Kremlin pressure in influential circles in Kyiv.
The tycoon – worth an estimated £480million – was re-arrested in Kyiv last week while allegedly trying to flee the country, having escaped from house arrest during the early days of the war.
Pinner and Aslin spoke after being prompted by an unidentified man who showed them the footage of Medvedchuk’s wife begging for his freedom, and were almost certainly speaking under duress.
A Home Office source condemned ‘the exploitation of prisoners of war for political purposes.’
Shaun Pinner (left) and Aiden Aslin (right), Britons serving in the Ukrainian marines who have now been captured by Russia, appeared on state TV today
An unidentified man showed Pinner a video of Viktor Medvedchuk’s wife begging for his release, before Pinner appealed to Boris Johnson to facilitate the swap
The same man also showed the video to Aslin, who also requested a prisoner swap for Medvedchuk – who is Putin’s closest ally in Ukraine
‘I understand the situation,’ Pinner, who looked tired and nervous, said after being shown the video in which Oksana Marchenko appealed directly to families of Aslin and Pinner to pressure Johnson to act.
Pinner, who appeared to be speaking without a script, said: ‘I’d like to appeal to the government to send me back home, I’d like to see my wife again.
‘We look to exchange myself and Aiden Aslin for Mr Medvedchuk. Obviously I would really appreciate your help in this matter.’
Pinner also delivered a message to his wife, telling her ‘I love you’, while also insisting that he is being taken care of by Russian troops.
The unidentified man was then shown speaking to Aslin, who was sat on a chair wearing a T-shirt bearing the emblem of Ukraine’s far-right Azov battalion, in a different location.
‘I think that Boris needs to listen to what Oksana (Medvedchuk’s wife) has said,’ said Aslin, who also looked nervous. ‘If Boris Johnson really does care about British citizens like he says he does then he will help.’
Appearing to speak from a script, he also described the actions of Ukrainian troops in Mariupol – accusing them of kidnapping and arresting civilians.
There is no way to confirm the information, which is similar to previous denunciations that Aslin has been forced to make on camera.
Oksana Medvedchuk’s appeal was posted to YouTube on Satruday, in a direct appeal to the British Prime Minister to try and persuade his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky to exchange Medvedchuk for the two British prisoners.
‘Dear Mr Prime Minister Johnson,’ she said. ‘I appeal to you for help in exchanging my husband, who was illegally detained by Kyiv authorities for political reasons and false accusations for citizens of your country – Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner – who surrendered to the armed forces of the Russian Federation in Mariupol.
‘Mr Prime Minister, you have a great influence of President Zelensky, if you are not indifferent to the fate of your subjects, help their family and friends return Aiden and Shaun – help me return Victor. I am grateful for your attention.’
Separately, Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service released a video of Medvedchuk who asked to be swapped too.
Medvedchuk addressed Putin and Zelensky, asking to be exchanged for the defenders of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and any civilians allowed to leave.
Pinner and Aslin spoke after being prompted by an unidentified man who showed them the footage of Medvedchuk’s wife – Oksana – begging for his freedom, and were almost certainly speaking under duress. Pictured: The footage the British prisoners were shown
Ukraine released a video of Viktor Medvedchuk – a pro-Russian politician under arrest in Kyiv – begging for his freedom around the same time the video of Aslin and Pinner emerged
Medvedchuk (left) is known as the ‘prince of darkness’ and Putin’s ‘grey cardinal’ because of his close ties to the Kremlin and years of advocating on Russia’s behalf in Ukraine
Three days after Russia moved its forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukraine said Medvedchuk had escaped from house arrest.
He had been placed under house arrest in May 2021 and charged with high treason and later with aiding terrorism.
The pro-Russian figure, who says Putin is godfather to his daughter, has denied wrongdoing.
Zelensky had proposed to exchange Medvedchuk, 67, for Ukrainians currently being held in Russia.
Asked about a potential exchange last week, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stressed that Medvedchuk was ‘not a Russian citizen’ and said he did not know if he wanted Moscow to interfere in his case.
On Monday, Peskov promised to ‘communicate’ any response to the idea from Putin.
Pinner is a British Army veteran who served with the Royal Anglians before marrying a Ukrainian woman. He subsequently enlisted in the Ukrainian marines.
Aslin is a former care worker who went to Syria in 2015 to fight for Kurdish forces, who were leading a western-backed coalition in the war against ISIS.
After two tours of Syria, Aslin – who has Ukrainian citizenship – became a member of the country’s military and ended up serving in the marines.
Both he and Pinner were guarding trenches in Ukraine’s east when war with Russia broke out in late February, and ended up joining the defence of the nearby city of Mariupol when it was surrounded and besieged by Putin’s men.
Aslin, who tweeted under the name ‘Cossackgundi’, was captured first – with family members using his Twitter account to say he had been forced to surrender after running out of ammunition.
He was subsequently pictured in detention by Russian troops, having apparently been beaten across his face.
Pinner was then reported captured at the weekend, and was paraded in front of TV cameras for the first time on Saturday.
‘I am Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the United Kingdom. I was captured in Mariupol,’ he told the camera.
‘I am part of 36th brigade, 1st Battalion Ukrainian Marine. I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I am in the Donetsk People’s Republic.’
Shaun Pinner, 48, was serving as a Marine in Ukraine, defending the key strategic port of Mariupol
On Sunday, Mr Pinner’s family released a statement in response to his capture, explaining how he became involved in the defence of Ukraine against the Russian invasion while calling for Shaun’s Russian captors to adhere to the Geneva Convention’s regulations regarding the treatment of POWs.
‘Shaun was a well-respected soldier within the British Army serving in the Royal Anglian Regiment for many years. He served in many tours including Northern Ireland and with the United Nations in Bosnia,’ the statement read.
‘In 2018 Shaun decided to re-locate to Ukraine to use his previous experience and training within the Ukraine Military.
‘Shaun enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life and considered Ukraine as his adopted country over the last four years. During this time, he met his Ukrainian wife who is very focussed on the humanitarian needs of the country.
‘He progressed into the Ukrainian Marines as a proud member of his unit. At the end of 2022 his 3 year contract is due to end and he was planning to enter a humanitarian role within Ukraine.’
The statement continued: ‘We would like to make it clear he is not a volunteer nor a mercenary, but officially serving with the Ukrainian Army in accordance with Ukrainian Legislation.
‘Our family is currently working with the Foreign Office along with the family of Aiden Aslin who is also being held by the Russian Army to ensure their rights as Prisoners Of War are upheld according to the Geneva Convention.
‘Shaun is a funny, much loved well intentioned Husband, Son, Father, Brother and Friend to many. We are hoping for a quick resolution to allow Shaun and Aiden to return safely to their families and we ask for privacy at this difficult time.
‘Our hearts go out to all those caught up in this horrific conflict.’
Pinner served with the Royal Anglians and enlisted in the Marines in Ukraine after marrying his wife Larysa (pictured right), who is from the country
He reportedly told his Russians captors that ‘he doesn’t want war and wants to go home’
Since both men were enlisted in the regular Ukrainian military before surrendering, they are protected by the Geneva Convention which states they should not be mistreated or abused.
However, Russian state media has described both men as foreign mercenaries – meaning soldiers who are not part of an official military – which has sparked fears the pair have been or will be tortured.
Angela Wood, Aiden’s mother, has already spoken of her fear that her son will be abused – telling Sky News: He’s not a mercenary, he’s not a volunteer, he did not go out there in the last month and think ‘I’m going to fight, I’m going to get glory.’
‘He has been out there four years and he is a legitimate Ukrainian marine.’
Shannon Tinegate, Mr Aslin’s sister, told the channel that she spoke with him in Mariupol shortly before he surrendered and he did not have any of the facial injuries he was seen with on TV.
Medvedchuk is a hugely controversial figure because of his close ties to Moscow.
He claims to be so close to Putin that the Russian leader is godfather to his youngest daughter, Darya.
A businessman who amassed his fortune through investments in the media, natural resources and energy, Medvedchuk rose through the political ranks at a time when Ukraine was known for backroom deals and corruption.
As a close ally of Putin, Medvedchuk entered parliament in the late 1990s and for three years in the early 2000s was head of the presidential administration.
Aiden Aslin is pictured in military gear. Born in Newark in 1994, he worked as a care worker before deciding to join the YPG, the US-backed militia which had spearheaded the fight against ISIS in Syria, to fight jihadists in 2015
Aiden Aslin smiles for the camera. He was persuaded of Ukraine’s cause against Russia and moved to the country in 2018
Aiden Aslin is pictured circled left in this image taken from social media in Ukraine
Oksana Marchenko, the wife of jailed oligarch Viktor Medvedchuk, held a press conference last week begging for her husband to be released
Known as a power-broker between Kyiv and Moscow, he was courted variously by pro-Russian Ukrainian leaders who wanted closer ties and pro-Western governments who hoped to make use of his access to the Kremlin.
Medvedchuk was a bitter critic of the Euromaidan protests which erupted in late 2013 and ended with the toppling of political ally Viktor Yanukovych – a pro-Russian politician who fled the country after his brutal repression of the protests failed.
After Putin invaded Ukraine, seized Crimea, and backed breakaway governments in the Donbas region in 2014, Medvedchuk was appointed negotiator on behalf of the breakaway regions in talks with the government.
He was also sanctioned by the US for his alleged role in the annexation of Crimea.
He had been under house arrest since 2021 on treason charges over accusations that he tried to steal natural resources from Russia-annexed Crimea and hand Ukrainian military secrets to Moscow.
Speaking on Wednesday, Zelensky offered Medvedchuk in a prisoner swap deal.
‘I propose to the Russian Federation to exchange this guy of yours for our boys and our girls who are now in Russian captivity,’ the president said in a video address posted on Telegram in the early hours of the morning.
‘And may Medvedchuk be an example for you. Even the former oligarch did not escape. What can we say about much simpler criminals from the Russian hinterland? We will get everyone.’
On Tuesday night, Zelensky posted a picture online of a dishevelled-looking Medvedchuk with his hands in cuffs and dressed in a Ukrainian army uniform.
‘A special operation was carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine. Well done!’ Zelensky wrote on Telegram, announcing Medvedchuk’s capture.
Security agency chief Ivan Bakanov said agents had carried out a ‘lightning-fast and dangerous multi-level special operation to detain’ the Russia-friendly lawmaker and leader of the ‘Opposition Platform – For Life’ party.
Chilling video shows Putin’s Tu-95 nuclear bombers flying near Ukrainian border as Russian rockets kill at least six in Lviv
Vladimir Putin sent up strategic nuclear-capable bombers in the skies over Western Russia today amid huge pressure on the Kremlin over the calamitous sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea last week.
Videos from today and Saturday caught four of the aircraft – used to carry nuclear bombs – over the Kaluga region, between Moscow and the Ukrainian border. The planes are believed to be Russian Tu-95s, known as Bears, and appeared to be flying in striking distance of Ukraine.
The Defence Ministry in Moscow had not immediately announced the purpose of the mission.
The Tu-95s have been used a number of times to strike targets in Ukraine with non-nuclear weapons, notably Kh-55 and Kh-101 air-launched cruise missiles. The super-loud Tu-95 is the only propeller-powered strategic bomber still in operational use today, and the plane first flew 70 years ago.
Vladimir Putin sent up his strategic bombers in the skies over Western Russia today amid huge pressure on the Kremlin over the sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea. The planes are believed to be Russian Tu-95s, known as Bears, and appeared to be flying in striking distance of Ukraine
Five ‘powerful’ Russian missile strikes hit Lviv early Monday, in a rare attack on a western city that has so far been spared much of the fighting since the Russian invasion began. Pictured: Locals watch on as firefighters battle a blaze after a civilian building was hit by a Russian missile on April 18, Lviv
Pictured: Smoke rises after 5 aimed missile strikes hit Lviv, Ukraine on April 18, 2022
Putin has deployed the Tu-95s to buzz Britain at moments of high tension, for example in February this year when the Royal Air Force scrambled Typhoon fighters to escort two Bears off northern Scotland.
In February, ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on high alert, and threatened NATO allies with ‘consequences greater than any you have faced in history’ should they intervene in the Ukraine conflict.
The show of force came as five ‘powerful’ Russian missile strikes left at least seven people dead and eleven more injured in Lviv early Monday, the regional governor has said, as multiple Russian attacks rocked Ukraine overnight.
The strikes were a rare fatal attack on the city 40 miles from the border with Poland that has so far been spared much of the fighting since the Russian invasion began almost two months ago, on February 24.
Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin sent up his strategic bombers in the skies over Western Russia today amid huge pressure on the Kremlin over the sinking of the Moskva flagship in the Black Sea.
Videos from today and Saturday caught four of the aircraft – used to carry nuclear bombs – over the Kaluga region, between Moscow and the Ukrainian border. The planes are believed to be Russian Tu-95s, known as Bears, and appeared to be flying in striking distance of Ukraine.
In Lviv, footage showed plumes of thick, black smoke rising over the city after a series of explosions shattered windows and started fires, while one video filmed by a civilian appeared to show a cruise missile flying overhead.
MARIUPOL: Tanks of pro-Russian troops drive along a road during Ukraine-Russia conflict near the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022
MARIUPOL: A view shows a residential building, which was destroyed during Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 17, 2022
Firefighters at work in the immediate aftermath of a Russian shelling in Kharkiv, 17 April 2022
‘At the moment, we are able to confirm that seven people have died. We also know that 11 people are injured. A child is among them,’ the Lviv regional governor Maksym Kozytsky said in an update on the strikes on social media. ‘Three victims are in critical condition,’ he added.
A hotel sheltering Ukrainians who had fled fighting further east was among the buildings badly damaged in overnight missile strikes, according to Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi, who put the toll at six dead and 11 wounded.
‘The nightmare of war has caught up with us even in Lviv,’ said Lyudmila Turchak, 47, who fled with two children from the eastern city Kharkiv. ‘There is no longer anywhere in Ukraine where we can feel safe.’
Two people also died and four were wounded in Monday attacks on the towns of Marinka and Novopol, west of Donetsk – regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said – and an air strike hit an armaments factory in the capital Kyiv.
In the country’s second city of Kharkiv, at least five people were killed and 20 wounded in a series of strikes just 13 miles from the Russian border.
Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had destroyed four arms and military equipment depots in Ukraine overnight with Iskander missiles, and hit 315 Ukrainian targets in total overnight, the TASS news agency reported.
The military said missiles struck more than 20 military targets across Ukraine overnight – including ammunition depots, command headquarters and groups of troops and vehicles. Meanwhile, it said warplanes conducted 108 strikes on Ukrainian troops and military equipment. The claims couldn’t be independently verified.
A view of graves for people killed during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at a cemetery in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 18
The coffin of Roman Vered, 53, who according to his family was killed by Russian soldiers and recently identified in Kyiv’s morgue, is seen before his burial, as a gravedigger drinks water amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, at the cemetery in Irpin, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 18, 2022
However, according to Euan MacDonald – a reporter for the New Voice of Ukraine – one of the Lviv strikes hit a tire servicing centre, and another landed near a railway station. He said it appeared Russia was trying to stop the flow of western weapons being delivered to Ukraine to bolster its resistance.
Russia has insisted it is not targeting civilians in its invasion – despite thousands of deaths and mounting evidence on the contrary. On April 1, a double-Russian missile strike hit Kramatorsk train station, killing dozens of evacuees.
The attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of wanting to ‘destroy’ the entire eastern region of Donbas, as the remaining forces in Mariupol prepared Monday for a final defence.
Monday also saw reports of a Ukrainian counter-attack near the eastern city of Izyum, close to the Russian border and where Moscow’s forces are said to be building up in preparation for an assault on Donbas.
Military analysts say Russia is increasing its strikes on weapons factories, railways and other infrastructure targets across Ukraine to wear down the country’s ability to resist a major ground offensive in the Donbas, Ukraine’s mostly Russian-speaking eastern industrial heartland.
General Richard Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, told Sky News the strikes were part of a ‘softening-up’ campaign by Russia ahead of a planned ground offensive in the Donbas.
Russia is bent on capturing the Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists already control some territory, after its attempt to take the capital, Kyiv, failed. ‘We are doing everything to ensure the defense’ of eastern Ukraine, Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation on Sunday.
Source: Daily Mail
