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A BRITISH PoW who was brutally tortured by his Russian captors has become a citizen of Ukraine.
Brave Aiden Aslin, 31, was beaten, stabbed and forced to sing the Russian national anthem after being told: “Yours will be a beautiful death.”
His terrifying five-month ordeal only came to an end after ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich brokered a prisoner swap.
Aiden returned to Ukraine in the wake of his release and was awarded the Order of Courage.
He was granted citizenship earlier this month and pledged his future to the country.
He said: “Some people may wonder why.
“But for me, the answer is simple: I love Ukraine.
“Everything that life has thrown at me, beating, stabbing, death sentence, psychological trauma…none of it has made me retreat.
“Maybe I’m British by blood, but I’m Ukrainian by spirit and will.
“My future is here in Ukraine.”
In an exclusive interview after his release in September 2022, Aiden told The Sun: “I never thought I’d get out alive.”
He built a new life in Ukraine in 2018 as a marine and was on the frontline when Russia launched its illegal invasion in February 2022.
He was one of 500 marines who ultimately surrendered to Russian forces after his trapped battalion ran out of provisions and ammunition during the Azovstal steelworks siege in early April.
He was taken into the countryside, threatened with execution, then showcased in front of the cameras during a mock trial in the Donetsk People’s Republic, where he received a death sentence.
Aiden, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, revealed: “I genuinely thought my days were numbered.
“As soon as we surrendered they flicked through my passport and quickly realised it wasn’t Ukrainian.
“The soldier processing me asked in Russian: ‘Where are you from?’
“I told him I was from Great Britain and as soon as I said that he punched me in the face.”
Aiden was freed alongside fellow Brit PoWs, Shaun Pinner, 51, John Harding, 59, Dylan Healy, 25, and Andrew Hill, 39.
British aid worker Paul Urey, 45, died in captivity before their release.
Who is Aiden Aslin?
Born in Newark, Nottinghamshire, Aiden Aslin has built a new life for himself in Ukraine.
As a marine, he fought on the frontlines when the Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
He was captured by Russian forces during the brutal battle for the Azovstal steel plant in the city of Mariupol that April.
Aiden had been sentenced to death by firing squad after a sham trial.
But he was later freed in a prisoner exchange deal in September.
He has since returned to the frontlines, saying: “I’ll stay until the war is won.”
