British nationals held by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine have now returned to the UK, according to reports. Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Dylan Healy, Andrew Hill and Shaun Pinner have been reunited with their families after landing at Heathrow Airport, according to a UK non-profit organisation. The five were released after Saudi Arabia said it had mediated between Russia and Ukraine. The Presidium Network, a non-profit organization that supported Mr Healy’s family, said the five men were now safely at home. Co-founder Dominik Byrne told the BBC that all the men were “looking forward to normalcy with their families after this horrific ordeal”.
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Liz Truss announced the men’s release on Wednesday night, thanking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “for his efforts to secure the release of the prisoners and Saudi Arabia for their assistance”. “Russia must stop its merciless exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian prisoners for political purposes,” Ms Truss added. Three of the men, Aiden Aslin, John Harding and Shaun Pinner, were captured while fighting in Ukraine. Photos emerged on Thursday showing the three detainees arriving by plane in Riyadh. Speaking in a video posted from their plane to Riyadh, Mr Ashlin said: “We just want everyone to know that we are now out of the danger zone and on our way home to our families.” Mr Pinner added: “By the skin of our teeth.” Aiden Aslin has been reunited with his family / YouTube/Graham Phillips Their release was part of a surprise prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine, brokered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the largest since the start of the war and involving nearly 300 people, including 10 foreigners and the commanders who led of the protracted Ukrainian defense of Mariupol earlier this year. Mr Aslin added: “It’s just us, there were a total of 10 foreigners who were held captive. We’ll be pretty quiet until we sort things out, but we just want everyone to know the good news. “Thank you to everyone who supported us, we really appreciate it.” His British colleague added: “Thank you everyone, I can’t say thank you enough.” Ten foreign prisoners were freed in total, including American, British, Croatian, Moroccan and Swedish nationals, Saudi Arabia’s foreign ministry said in a statement, adding that a plane carrying the prisoners landed in the kingdom. The ministry added that “the relevant Saudi authorities have received and transferred them from Russia to the kingdom and are facilitating the procedures for their respective countries.” Robert Jenrick, MP for Newham, confirmed earlier that Aiden Aslin was among those released. Mr Aslin was one of three Britons, along with Shaun Pinner and Moroccan-born Brahim Saadoun, who were arrested earlier this year and sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), one of Russia’s proxies in the east. Ukraine. “Aiden’s return ends months of agonizing uncertainty for Aiden’s loving family in Newark who suffered every day from Aiden’s sham trial but never lost hope,” he said. “As they are united as a family once again, they can finally rest in peace.” Two British citizens Aiden Aslin, left, and Shaun Pinner, right, and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim, center, sit behind bars in a courtroom in Donetsk / AP Foreign Secretary James Cleverley said the release “brings an end to months of uncertainty and suffering, including the threat of the death penalty, for them and their families at the hands of Russia”. “Unfortunately this was not the case for one of the prisoners and our thoughts remain with the family of Paul Urey.” Mr Urey, a British aid volunteer, died earlier this year while being held by Russian-backed separatists in Ukraine. Allan Hogarth, of Amnesty International UK, called it a “huge relief” after a “sham trial apparently designed to put diplomatic pressure on the UK”. Large numbers of foreigners have traveled to Ukraine to fight since Russia invaded on February 24. Some of them have been caught by Russian forces, along with other foreigners in the country who say they were not combatants. Further details about the British nationals and the process leading to their release have not yet been released by the government. In other developments, Ms Truss said “fake referendums” in Ukraine would not be recognized in a warning to Vladimir Putin. It comes after the Russian President announced substantial plans to annex four Ukrainian provinces, saying Moscow would help with referendums on Ukraine’s Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Kherson regions joining Russia. “Putin’s calls for mobilization are a sure sign that his barbaric invasion is failing,” Ms Truss said. “Any fake referendums on Ukrainian soil will not be recognized.” Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the nation in Moscow (Russian Presidential Press Service via AP) / AP The move creates the necessary pretext for Putin to claim, without any evidence, that Ukraine and NATO pose an existential threat to Russia – allowing him to justify the use of nuclear weapons. The Kremlin had previously issued nuclear threats to the West throughout the war. Addressing the Russian people in a televised broadcast on Wednesday, Mr Putin warned that Moscow would use “all means at our disposal to protect Russia and our people” – including the use of “weapons of destruction”. “It’s not a bluff,” he added. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believes Putin is unlikely to use nuclear weapons, but that the threat shows why it is important to resist him. “I don’t believe he will use these weapons. I don’t think the world will allow him to use these weapons,” Mr Zelenskiy said in remarks reported by German newspaper Bild. Elsewhere, police across Russia arrested hundreds of people for demonstrating against the mobilization, independent protest monitoring group OVD-Info reported. In the Siberian city of Irkutsk, at least 10 of the 60 protesters who gathered in a central square were arrested, according to local activists, the Moscow Times reported. In Russia’s third-largest city of Novosibirsk, video posted on social media showed a protester shouting “I don’t want to die for Putin or you.”
