One of the men, Sean Pinner, has been photographed with his family after they were reunited. “If you thought that COVID highlighted the importance of family, this is even more so,” his sister, Cassandra, told Sky News. Aiden Ashlin, John Harding, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill have been identified by the foreign office and the commonwealth as the other Britons. Russia ‘may struggle’ to mobilize 300,000 troops – Ukraine War Latest “We know they are all safely back in the UK now and looking forward to normalcy with their families after this horrific ordeal,” the Presidium Network said. The not-for-profit organization added: “Most families have asked for privacy while they normalize back in the UK.” Before their release, four of the men appeared in video clips posted online or on Russian state television. On their flight home, Mr Ashlin and Pinner recorded a message, thanking those who had worked to free them. Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 0:36 British POWs speak out after release “We are now out of the danger zone and going home to our families,” Mr Ashlin said. “By the skin of our teeth,” added Mr Pinner, who is from Bedfordshire. He was threatened with death by a firing squad In April, both men were arrested by Russian forces who accused them of being mercenaries. As a result, they appeared in court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic, a breakaway region in eastern Ukraine, and were threatened with death by a firing squad. At the time, Mr. Piner’s family emphasized that he was “not a volunteer or a mercenary, but officially serving in the Ukrainian army.” Use Chrome browser for more accessible video player 1:20 Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim were sentenced to death in April In footage broadcast on Russian state television in April, Piner said he had been fighting in the besieged port city of Mariupol for five to six weeks. In the months before he appeared in court, he told Sky News he was on his fourth tour of duty in Ukraine after serving in the British Army for nine years. The 48-year-old has been living in the country since 2018 and has a Ukrainian wife. After news broke that the Britons would be returning to the UK, Prime Minister Liz Truss said she “warmly welcomed” the move, adding that it would end “months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families”. Image: Shaun Pinner (centre) and Aiden Aslin (right). John Harding has the thumbs up Who else was released? Nearly 300 people were released in the prisoner exchange, many of them from the Ukrainian Azov Regiment, which gained notoriety for defending the last stronghold in Mariupol. John Harding was among the small group of soldiers holed up inside the Azovstal steelworks in the southeastern city. Ten other foreigners were released in Saudi Arabia before returning home, including Moroccan Brahim Saadoun, Americans Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, a Croatian and a Swedish national. Image: Nearly 300 people have been freed after being held by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine. Photo: SPA – Saudi Press Agency Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said: “We remember all our people and try to save every Ukrainian. “This is the concept of Ukraine, our essence, this is what distinguishes us from the enemy.” The exchange came unexpectedly as Russian President Vladimir Putin threatened to use nuclear weapons. He mediated with the help of Turkey and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has close ties to Mr Putin.
