Aiden Aslin, a soldier from Britain who was captured whilst fighting as a member of the Ukrainian Army and sentenced to death, is set to return to Ukraine just months after his release.
The 28-year-old had been serving with the army in Ukraine before the Russian invasion, and continued to do so until his capture in April whilst defending the city of Mariupol.
After running out of food, water, and ammunition, Aslin’s unit was forced to surrender and he was taken into Russian captivity.
Advert
Following a trial, he was sentenced to death by firing squad and lived for months under the threat and uncertainty of whether that sentence could be carried out at any moment.
Thankfully, it wasn’t.
In the end, negotiations took place involving the Saudi Crown Prince and former Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich that saw Aslin freed and allowed to return to his home in Newark, Nottinghamshire, where his family and his fiancée, who has moved to England as a refugee from Ukraine, are based.
Despite being reunited with his family and in safety, Aslin has now announced that he will be returning to Ukraine.
Advert
This time, however, he won’t be returning as a fighter in the war, but as a YouTube ‘war correspondent’.
He will broadcast from the country on his YouTube channel and report on the developing situations around the conflict.
As well as that, he says he’ll tell the stories of Ukrainian soldiers and emergency service personnel, as well as reporting on civilians who are struggling to survive in the war-torn nation.
Aslin said: "It's my home.
“Obviously, I don't want to be captured again, but I feel there is still work to be done.
Advert
“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.”
He added: "I know that I may a recognisable face in Ukraine, but I feel it's worth the risk."
Advert
Aslin says that he wants to return out of love for his adopted home country, as well as to keep the plight of the Ukrainian people in the minds of those outside the country.
After his capture in Mariupol, his family worried whether they would ever see him again.
His mother Ang Wood said: "The way in which he was treated whilst in captivity was inhumane and against the Geneva Convention
"The Russians have put my family through nearly six months of hell through their blackmail and propaganda.
"I watched those propaganda videos and they were horrific. I knew [what he was being made to say] was all lies.
Advert
"I have been contacted by those holding him captive.
"It was a sham trial. The death sentence he was handed was a big emotional stress and torture for our family.
"I never thought I would see him alive again."
If you would like to donate to the Red Cross Emergency Appeal, which will help provide food, medicines and basic medical supplies, shelter and water to those in Ukraine, click here for more information
Tom Wood