Aiden Aslin: Family appeal for safety of Briton 'captured in Ukraine'

Aiden Aslin, photographed here in Syria, has been fighting alongside the Ukrainian army

The family of a British man has appealed for him to be treated humanely after he was reportedly captured while defending Ukraine.

Russian sources claim Aiden Aslin, who is originally from Newark in Nottinghamshire, has been captured in the besieged city of Mariupol.

On Tuesday his family told the BBC his unit was having to prepare to surrender to Russian forces.

Mr Aslin has now appeared in photos and video footage restrained in handcuffs.

His mother Ang Wood told the BBC: "I believe it is him in the photographs. We just want him to be treated according to the Geneva Conventions.

"We are just hoping that maybe there can be some sort of prisoner exchange. We don't know what else to do right now except keep pressing the Foreign Office."

The BBC has asked the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for a response.

Mr Aslin has a Ukrainian fiancée and now has dual citizenship, after moving to Ukraine in 2018.

His grandmother Pamela Hall told the BBC: "I never expected this, I thought if the worst came to the worst that Aiden would die fighting.

"Obviously I didn't want that, I wanted the war to end and for him to go home to his fiancée."

Mr Aslin had been defending Mariupol with his unit during heavy fighting in recent weeks.

"I think all the guys should be treated as prisoners of war according to the Geneva Conventions; I appreciate it's opposing forces, but they're all human beings," his grandmother said.

"We are all just hoping and praying for his safety."

Mr Aslin is a former care worker who previously fought with Kurdish armed units in Syria against so-called Islamic State.

He passed out as a marine with the Ukrainian military in 2018. His family understand his unit is the 36th Marine Brigade.

A video is being shown on Russian television news in which Mr Aslin is being questioned.

The interviewer first asks in Russian whether he understands the language, to which he replies in Russian "50/50".

He is then asked whether he killed anyone, and the interviewer also says: "Did you see others killing anyone in your presence?"

Mr Aslin replies in English: "I didn't do any fighting."

Analysis

By Emma Vardy, BBC News correspondent

Aiden Aslin is clearly being used to maximum advantage as a tool for Russian propaganda, interviewed by a Russian TV reporter while being held captive.

In a lengthy segment, the news anchor and reporter refer to Aiden in brutal terms, calling him a "head cutter".

During the interview, Aiden appears to back up propaganda that Russian state media has been putting out since the start of the invasion.

He states he has seen Ukrainian soldiers killing Ukrainian civilians. A classic Kremlin claim regularly made by Russian officials, despite huge amounts of evidence of atrocities against civilians committed by Russian forces.

We cannot know under what duress Aiden may have been prior to this interview, but one thing is very clear.

These are not the words of the Aiden Aslin from a few weeks ago, when he was speaking to family from the conflict and regularly posting social media updates.

Loved ones will tell you he was very proud of his role as a marine in the Ukrainian forces, and believes strongly in defending civilians.

His grandmother told the BBC: "Aiden was not a mercenary as some of these Russian posts are saying.

"He has never been a mercenary and his involvement with the Ukrainian forces came about because he made Ukraine his adopted home, and he was due to marry his fiancée.

"It's an unjust war - it should never have happened."

Aiden Aslin became a Ukrainian marine

Additional reporting by Olga Ivshina.