Back home with their families, Britons released in Ukraine deal
FIVE British hostages who faced the threat of a Russian firing squad in Ukraine made an emotional return to Britain yesterday.
After months of imprisonment, torture and fear of execution, the men were finally reunited with their loved ones.
Last night, beers were raised and steak and red wine was on the menu for at least one of the captives as they tasted freedom again.
Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, Dylan Healy, Andrew Hill and John Harding appeared exhausted but elated as they arrived in the UK.
They had spent the previous two days in transit, first being driven bound and blindfolded from eastern Ukraine to an unknown destination in Russia.
They were then flown to Saudi Arabia where they received medical attention and were met by British consular officials before a British Airways flight brought them home, where their delighted relatives were waiting.
Mr Aslin arrived at his mother’s house in Newark, Nottinghamshire, around 2pm. The former
‘Traumatic experience’
care worker had spent five months behind bars, during which time he was stabbed by prison guards and endured mock executions.
He told reporters: ‘I have been through a traumatic experience and I just want to get into my house. I also want to thank everyone who helped secure our release, especially president [Volodymyr] Zelensky and the Saudis.’
Mr Aslin was accompanied by his Ukrainian fiancée Diana and his brother Nathan.
His mother Angela Wood said: ‘We are so relieved to have Aiden home. I have not slept all night. Aiden needs time to recover. We have all had a really long day.’
Mr Aslin’s grandmother Pamela Hall added: ‘I haven’t slept for 24 hours. This is amazing news. We’re so happy.’
Posts on social media by Mr Aslin’s friends yesterday suggested he had been stabbed and beaten while in captivity. His face had appeared swollen and bruised in video recordings of his interrogation by Russian forces.
The hostages also suffered psychological torture. They were told, ‘say goodbye to your families, you’re going to be killed’.
Before his capture, Mr Aslin frequently posted on Instagram from the frontline, using the profile ‘cossackgundi’. The account was run by a friend and remained active while he was imprisoned in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine.
Last night a post on the account read: ‘I had my first phone call with Aiden in about five months this afternoon.
‘He sounds amazing, and is full of energy. What he went through was worse than what I thought. He lived up to his favourite Winston Churchill quote, “if you’re going through hell, keep going”. It is a new day and a very good one. Aiden is free! Our boys are free! Ukraine and her people will always be free! Thank you everyone for your support, from Aiden and me.’
Mr Aslin’s close friend, and comrade in a Ukrainian marine unit, Shaun Pinner, returned to his mother’s house in Luton, Bedfordshire, yesterday.
His jubilant step-father Lyndon Price said: ‘He has just got home. We picked him up from the airport this morning. All the families were there and, as you can, imagine it was very emotional.
‘Shaun has been through quite a lot. We are very, very happy he is home. It is fantastic news. We are all together, Shaun’s son, my wife and Shaun’s sister.
‘I have just given him a shave. I took all his beard off for him. He is well and looks fine. He is so pleased to be home.
‘What Shaun has gone through isn’t for the faint-hearted. He’s tired, he’s had a couple of beers. He’s going to have steak and red wine tonight and he is looking forward to that.’
According to their families, the hostages were unaware of the negotiations intended to secure their release. As part of the same deal, hundreds of captured Ukrainian and a handful of Russian troops were set free.
Saudi Arabia acted as an intermediary between the governments of each country.
Remarkably, Mr Pinner is not ruling out a return to Ukraine.
Mr Price added: ‘At some stage, I think he will want to go back. He loves Ukraine. He might want to get involved in humanitarian work. His wife is still there too, we are hoping to get her over here.’
Mr Pinner, a former soldier in the Royal Anglian Regiment, enlisted in the Ukrainian armed forces in 2018. He was sent to the frontline in the eastern region, known as the Donbas, and was captured by Russian forces in the southern port city of Mariupol in April this year.