Five British nationals held as prisoners of war by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine have been safely returned, says Prime Minister Liz Truss.
The British prisoners of war were reportedly released after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman contacted the Kremlin to discuss the release of ten prisoners, the five Brits, one Moroccan, a Swede, a Croatian, and two Americans. Health Secretary Robert Jenrick has said Aiden Aslin is one of the people released.
Mr Aslin was one of two British men captured by Russian forces in June, before they appeared before a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, a breakaway region in Ukraine's east , according to our sister site The Mirror. Today Mr Jenrick tweeted: "I am delighted that my constituent, Aiden Aslin, and the other British prisoners of war held captive by the Russian authorities have finally been released and are on their way back to the UK."
It is thought the five Brits are among 10 prisoners who have arrived in Riyadh from Russia, after Saudi Arabia's Prince Mohammed bin Salman contacted the Kremlin to push for their release, which was approved after Vladimir Putin pushed through new laws pointing towards mobilisation of reserve forces in Russia.
Liz Truss said on Twitter: "Hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families. Russia must end the ruthless exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political ends."
On Tuesday, Russia‘s parliament approved a bill to toughen punishments for crimes such as desertion, damage to military property and noncompliance if they are committed during military mobilisation or combat situations. The bill, passed in its second and third readings on Tuesday by the Duma, comes as Russia seem poised to implement mobilisation, which would significantly escalate the conflict in Ukraine.
The Russian parliament gave initial approval for introducing the concepts of ‘mobilisation’ and ‘wartime’ into the country’s Criminal Code. This follows intense pressure on Putin from hardliners to declare war, instead of a special military operation as they have been calling it, and mobilise men of military age to join the army.
“Judging by what is happening and what is about to happen, this week marks either the eve of our imminent victory or the eve of nuclear war,” leading propagandist Margarita Simonyan said. According to a copy of the bill, seen by Reuters, voluntary surrender would become a crime for Russian military personnel, punishable by 10 years in prison. Failure to comply with an order during martial law will be punished by imprisonment for a term of two to three years.
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