- Aiden Aslin, 30, is now in embattled Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on the frontline
British fighter Aiden Aslin has returned to the Ukrainian frontline just 18 months after he was released by his Russian captors and flown back to the UK.
Aslin, 30, who was held as a prisoner of war for six months before being released in 2022, is now in the embattled Ukrainian city of Avdiivka – a key frontline hellhole in the war.
The Briton said he was delivering medical supplies to Ukrainian soldiers positioned there rather than fighting, with Aslin sharing a video of himself in the wartorn city.
Aslin was captured by Russian forces in April 2022 while fighting in Mariupol and was due to face a firing squad after being sentenced to death.
But the Saudi Crown Prince and ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich helped secure his release in September 2022 and he returned to the UK to be reunited with his family.
And now, 18 months later, Aslin has returned to the frontlines with the former British solider posting footage from Avdiivka as the sound of shellfire fills the air.
He said: ‘We are here in Avdiivka. Just leaving.’
Aslin later said: ‘We visited Avdivvka today to deliver crucial medical supplies for the civilians that are surviving in the city or what’s left of it.
‘Like many other cities such as Bakhmut and Mariupol, Avdivvka is just another city destroyed by Russia.
‘Russians say it’s green screen.’
He added praise for the Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his war zone visits.
‘Zelensky has some balls to stand here without body armour and helmet,’ Aslin said.
There is Russian fury that he has returned to the war zone, even in the capacity of sending in supplies.
‘While in captivity, Aslin asked for forgiveness from the people of Donbas and Russia for serving in the Ukrainian troops,’ said pro-war channel Bloknot Russia. ‘It turns out that he did not draw any conclusions for himself.’
Aiden was captured by the Russians in April 2022 while fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol.
He was sentenced to death two months later by the so-called authorities in pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic.
He was made the subject of propaganda footage by Russian-backed forces during his time in captivity.
But on 5 July 2022, Aslin’s defence team filed an appeal, requesting the dismissal of the verdict due to lack evidence of a crime.
Three months later, the Saudi Crown Prince and ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich helped secure his release in September 2022 and he returned to the UK to be reunited with his family.
Yet in November that year, he revealed he was returning to Ukraine as a YouTube ‘war correspondent’.
Mr Aslin, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, said at the time that his motivation to return was his love for his adopted country of Ukraine despite his brush with death just months earlier.
He said: ‘It’s my home. Obviously I don’t want to be captured again, but I feel there is still work to be done. There are stories that need to be told.
‘I promised my fiancée that I wouldn’t go back to the military. I don’t expect to ever pick up a weapon again.
‘I know that I may a recognisable face in Ukraine, but I feel it’s worth the risk.’
He said he also wants to bring eye-witness accounts to a wide audience in the West and to keep suffering in the public eye.
Emily Foster is a globe-trotting journalist based in the UK. Her articles offer readers a global perspective on international events, exploring complex geopolitical issues and providing a nuanced view of the world’s most pressing challenges.
