The first pictures of a captured British soldier in Ukraine have emerged, showing him wounded and handcuffed.
Aiden Aslin, who is 28 years old, has been fighting with the Ukrainians against the Russian invaders in the southern port city of Mariupol, where the most intense fighting of the war has been seen.
The fighter, with dual British and Ukrainian citizenship, has been fighting with the marines for 4 years and had previously travelled to Syria to fight ISIS during the civil war.
In the pictures, Aslin can be seen with a swollen and cut face, and there are fears that the prisoners of war, POWs, could be tortured by the Russian occupiers. The pictures were shared by the Russian puppet regime in Donetsk on their Telegram account.
He is the first British fighter in Ukraine known to have been captured.
Robert Jenrick, the British Member of Parliament for Aslin's hometown of Newark in Nottinghamshire said of his capture:
"I am working with the foreign office to track the whereabouts and secure the release of my constituent. Aiden chose to risk his life because he believes passionately in the Ukrainian people's right to live in freedom and democracy."
Online, Aslin's social media profile goes under the name Cossack Gundi or Johnny and is currently being run by a friend outside of Ukraine. The account said shortly before the fighter surrendered:
"We've gotten word from Johnny. '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'."
Adding:
We're putting this out after direct consultation with his family. Until we're told otherwise we'll continue working on sharing the facts of the war. Hope for a prisoner exchange."
A prisoner exchange would involve Ukraine handing over Russian POWs in exchange for pro-Ukrainian fighters. Several of these exchanges have already been made throughout the near 2 months of conflict. However, it is believed that as Aslin is British, the Russians may see him as a useful bargaining chip, or potentially see his capture as a useful propaganda tool.
[Based on reporting by: Ladbible]
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