A court in Russian-controlled east Ukraine has sentenced to death two British men, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, on charges of “terrorism” after a days-long process that observers have condemned as a “show trial”. Here is everything we know about the two fighters, who were captured in the besieged city of Mariupol, where they had been fighting for weeks.
Aiden Aslin
Aslin, 28, is originally from Newark in Nottinghamshire, and moved to Ukraine in 2018, where he met his fiancee. He settled in the southern city of Mykolaiv and obtained Ukrainian citizenship, which he holds alongside his British citizenship.
A former care worker, he enlisted in the Ukrainian marines in 2018, and has remained in his unit for nearly four years. Previously, from 2015-17 he had fought in Syria against Islamic state with the People’s Defense Units (YPG), Kurdish armed units.
He passed out as a marine with the Ukrainian military in 2018. His family understand his unit is the 36th Marine Brigade.
According to his family, he “is not, contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda, a volunteer, a mercenary, or a spy”, but rather a “much-loved young man with a strong network of friends around him and a loving wife-to-be”.
His grandmother told the BBC that he had joined the army “because he made Ukraine his adopted home”.
He had been planning a future outside the military, but “like all Ukrainians, his life was turned upside down by Putin’s barbarous invasion” and he wished to defend “Ukraine’s right to self-determination”, the family said.
In a video shown on Russian television news in which Aslin is questioned, he is asked in Russian whether he understands the language, to which he replies in Russian “50/50”. He is then asked whether he killed anyone, or whether he saw others killed in his presence. Aslin replied in English: “I didn’t do any fighting.”
He has been active on social media, tweeting updates and analysis on the Russian invasion under the handle @cossackgundi. He voiced his support for charities serving meals on the frontline and spoke about the “price of this war” in terms of Ukrainian soldiers killed.
Shaun Pinner
Pinner, 48, has been in Ukraine since 2014, when he visited Kyiv in the aftermath of its pro-Europe Maidan revolution. He subsequently joined a Ukrainian brigade, clearing mines and unexploded ordnance as a sapper. Originally from Bedfordshire, he moved to Ukraine four years ago and lived with his wife in Mariupol.
Like Aslin, he is not a foreign legion volunteer but signed a legal, long-term contract several years ago with Ukraine’s defence ministry. He is also part of the 36th Marine Brigade, and it is understood that he fought in the Syrian Democratic Forces, too.
In a statement released by the Foreign Office, Pinner’s family described him as “funny, much-loved, well-intentioned” and said he considered Ukraine “his adopted country” as he “enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life”.
The statement read: “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 UN in Bosnia.
“In 2018 Shaun decided to relocate to Ukraine to use his previous experience and training within the Ukraine military”, which means he is “not a volunteer nor a mercenary”.
During this time, the family said he met his Ukrainian wife, who is “very focused on the humanitarian needs of the country”.
In an interview with the Mail on Sunday in January, Pinner shared his reasons for fighting: “I am here defending my family and adopted city. Russia started this war. It’s funded by Russia and driven by Russia, but we will fight them, make no mistake about that.”
He told the paper that as a veteran British soldier, “death has been a part of my life for so long”, but said he was not “just another war junkie” and had “excelled better than most Ukrainians” in combat.
