Aiden Aslin takes an oath to protect Ukraine in 2018
(Picture: Twitter/Cossackgundi)The family of a British fighter in Ukraine who reportedly surrendered to Russian forces after exhausting his supplies of food and ammunition have begged the Kremlin to treat him in a “humane and dignified way”.
Aiden Aslin, 27, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, is a member of the 39th Brigade Ukrainian Marines having taken an oath to defend Ukraine after falling in love with a woman who he is due to marry.
Mr Aslin’s younger brother, Nathan Wood, begged the Kremlin to look after him in an interview from their family home with MailOnline.
“If the Russians do have Aiden captive, we would want to remind them of the Geneva Convention and to treat him and other soldiers in a humane and dignified way,” he said.
“This is a worrying time for our family. Russia has a reputation with how it deals with its prisoners. Those soldiers from Snake Island, who told the Russians to ‘go f*** yourself’, talked about being tortured before they were released.
“Aiden may well become used as a propaganda tool by the Russians and be paraded about. We just hope they don’t do anything drastic. We want him to be safe.”
He added his brother didn’t sound happy in a short phone call with him before being cut off.
The former care worker, who was said to have “fought like hell”, reportedly told a friend that Russian forces were looking for him specifically to capture the Westerner who had been updating his followers on social media “from the trenches”.
Mr Aslin passed on a message to his followers, saying: “It’s been 48 days. We tried our best to defend Mariupol but we have no choice but to surrender to Russian forces.
“We have no food and no ammunition. It’s been a pleasure everyone, I hope this war ends soon.”
The fighter, who was due to get married this month, has been keeping his followers updated over social media.
He called for the West to bring an end to Putin’s “civilian bombing” campaign.
British #Ukraine Marine Aiden Aslin (AKA Cossack Gundî / Johnny) has had to surrender with his unit to Russian forces in Mariupol. They fought like hell for 48 days and have now run out of food and ammunition due to #Russia’s siege and destruction of the city. pic.twitter.com/RPYbXimRSi
— Jake Hanrahan (@Jake_Hanrahan) April 12, 2022
In his latest selfie video, he confirmed he was still alive in the war-torn city of Mariupol.
A friend added on a Instagram page: “He said he loves you all. He is strong in spirit and showed no weakness at all. He is surrendering to Russians which is only slightly better than surrendering to the Chechens.
“Their commander will be meeting them soon. Please Lord have mercy.”
More than 10,000 civilians have died in Mariupol and their corpses have been “carpeted through the streets”, the city’s mayor has said on Monday.
Mayor Vadym Boychenko made further claims the full death toll could surpass 20,000 - twice the number he has already claimed to have died.
