British mercenaries surprised by the attitude of being held by Russia

May 1, 2022 13:15 GMT+7

“I did not expect this. They heal me, give me drink and food. Of course, detention is still detention. You can’t expect 5-star service, but so far I’ve been treated with a casual attitude and they helped in getting me home,” Pinner told Izvestia.

Pinner added that he had fought on Ukrainian territory without signing a contract first, so he was initially willing to take responsibility for his life.

“By participating in wars without a contract, I took my own life. Because you will be punished, you will be arrested,” shared the British prisoner.

In addition, Pinner also said that, before starting a special military operation to protect Donbass, he preferred to be in the Ukrainian army.

In April, British soldiers Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin appeared on Russian television, urging Ukraine to agree to a prisoner swap.

Accordingly, two Britons captured by Russian troops in Ukraine appeared on Russian television to appeal to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for help. The video, broadcast on Rossiya 24 television channel, shows Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin calling on the British prime minister to negotiate their release in exchange for Ukraine’s release of opposition leader Viktor Medvedchuk.

These two “British citizens” were arrested while fighting for Ukraine in Mariupol. Russia views foreign nationals who fought in Ukraine as “mercenaries” and threatens that they will not enjoy the humanitarian status of prisoners of war.

Since the beginning of the Russian special military operation. Ukraine has recruited 6,824 foreign mercenaries from 63 different countries. The largest force came from Poland – 1717 gunmen. About 1500 mercenaries came from the US, Canada and Romania. From the UK and Georgia, about 300 people each, 193 fighters are from the Greater Idlib region of Syria.

The mercenaries were distributed among Ukrainian army groups in the cities of Kyiv, Kharkov, Odessa, Nikolaev and Mariupol.

The regional operational command and control headquarters of the so-called “Ukrainian International Defense Corps” located in the city of Bila Tserkva (Kiev) carried out the transfer. But when they joined Ukrainian units, often nationalist volunteer battalions, the mercenaries were immediately put on the front lines.

According to experts, foreign mercenaries do not have the status of “prisoners of war” under International Humanitarian Law. These people come to Ukraine to make money in shooting and killing and the best thing to expect is criminal liability and long prison sentences.

Peace (translation summary)