‘Appalled’ Johnson attacks death sentences on Britons in Ukraine
PRIME MINISTER Boris Johnson has ordered Ministers to do “everything in their power” to secure the release of two Britons condemned to death for fighting Russian forces in a “sham” sentencing.
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss discussed efforts to secure the release of Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner with her Ukrainian counterpart on Friday, after the judgment by a Russian proxy court.
Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, suggested negotiations for a possible prisoner swap with Moscow were under way, as it emerged Defence Secretary Ben Wallace made a surprise visit to Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. A relative of Mr Aslin urged Britain and Ukraine to “do everything in their power to have them returned to us safely, and soon”.
They said Mr Aslin, 28, and Mr
Pinner, 48, “are not, and never were, mercenaries” and should be treated as prisoners of war, as they were fighting as part of the Ukrainian army. The men were convicted of taking action towards violent seizure of power, at a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic.
A No 10 spokesman said: “The Prime Minister was appalled at the sentencing of these men. He has been following the case closely and has asked ministers to do everything in their power to try and reunite them with their families as soon as we can. We completely condemn the sham sentencing of these men to death. There’s no justification at all for this breach of the protection they’re entitled to.”
Ms Truss said she discussed “efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian proxies” during her call with Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s minister of foreign affairs. “The judgment against them is an egregious breach of the Geneva Convention,” she added.
Mr Prystaiko believed the two Britons, who he said were targeted for the UK’s support of Kyiv’s resistance against Russian President Vladimir Putin, will be released in exchange for Russian prisoners held by Ukrainian forces.
“It will be a swap,” he told BBC News.