Saudi Arabia has acted as a mediator to return five prisoners of war to the UK, including Newark-born Aiden Aslin, as part of an exchange between Ukraine and Russia.
Both men were held in detention and appeared in an internationally unrecognised court in the Donetsk People’s Republic – which itself is an unrecognised state held by pro-Russian rebels.without the opportunity for witness evidence to be heard – a sentence they appealed. Aslin, originally from Newark, first went to Ukraine in 2018 as a Marine and later became a citizen of the Eastern European nation with a fiancee living in the country.After months of negotiations between nations to organise a safe release of the soldiers rather than see them killed as per the proxy court ruling, a solution has finally been found by the UK Foreign Office – allowing Aiden, Shaun and others to return home.
Hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families.The Member of Parliament for Newark said: “I am delighted that my constituent, Aiden Aslin, and the other British prisoners of war held captive by the Russian authorities have finally been released and are on their way back to the UK.