A Briton facing death by firing squad in eastern Ukraine was filmed in his prison cell singing the Russian national anthem.
Unshaven and in shabby clothes, Aiden Aslin, 28, is seen standing on the internet singing the state anthem of the Russian Federation in a 140-second video supported by the Kremlin rt news agency.
As he sings, John Dougan, a former American police officer, stands next to him with a grin. When he’s done, Dougan — a prominent Russian propagandist in Ukraine — says, “Amazing.”
The footage of Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, emerged days after reports that another British prisoner, Paul Urey, had died in custody.
Although it may have been shot under duress, the video provides some evidence that Mr Aslin remains alive, unlike Mr Urey, 45, who was captured by pro-Russian militants attempting to kill a woman near save Donetsk.
Mr Aslin (pictured) was arrested in June along with another Brit, Shaun Pinner, 48, and held in detention by pro-Moscow separatists
As he sings, John Dougan, a former American police officer (left), stands beside him, grinning
Last week his mother Linda said: “They let him die there and I want to know why they let him die.”
Mr Aslin was arrested in June along with another Briton, Shaun Pinner, 48, and held by pro-Moscow separatists. Both moved to Ukraine after 2016, settled in the eastern city of Mariupol and joined the Ukrainian army as marines.
Despite their role as professional soldiers, the two were accused of being mercenaries and sentenced to death. The footage was created as:
- Putin’s forces used Europe’s largest nuclear power plant in Zaporizhia as a weapons depot;
- Three people were killed and at least 15 injured in a Russian missile attack in the city of Dnipro;
- Ukrainian authorities said they have now identified all 23 people killed in Thursday’s rocket attack on Vinnytsia, including four-year-old Liza Dmytrysyna, who died in her baby carriage.
According to Ukraine’s atomic energy agency Energoatom, around 500 Russian soldiers are stationed at the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which is used to house weapons, including missile systems.
Despite his role as a career soldier, Mr Aslin was accused of being a mercenary and sentenced to death
One official described the situation as “extremely intense,” adding, “The occupiers are bringing their machines there, including missile systems, from which they are already shelling the other side of the Dnipro River.”
The nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine has been under Russian control since the first weeks of the war, but is still operated by Ukrainian personnel.
Meanwhile, Russian missiles hit apartment buildings in Chuhuiv, a town near the city of Kharkiv in northern Ukraine, killing three people.
As Russia’s ground offensive in the east has slowed, airstrikes have increased, including those on the city of Vinnytsia.
The great-aunt of the tragic Liza Dmytrysyna said yesterday she is waiting to find out if the child’s mother, Iryna, will survive her injuries.
Tetiana Dmytrysyna said: ‘She reached for her daughter and Liza was already dead. The mother was robbed of the most precious thing she had.’
Liza, whose mother ran a blog updating readers on raising a child with Down Syndrome, has become the latest face with her charred and bloodied stroller being featured in media around the world of their nation’s suffering.
