Rossia 1 and RT channel broadcast several propaganda clips on Sunday and Monday. They featured U.K citizens Shaun Pinner (48) and Aiden Aslin (28). They were part of Ukraine's 36th Marine Brigade and fought in Mariupol.
Pinner appeared tired and bruised on Sunday and spoke to Andrey Rudenko, a Russian TV war reporter, to give some details about the battle at Mariupol.
Pinner stated in English that he was in Donetsk People's Republic after fighting in Mariupol for five-to-six weeks. He was referring to the east region, where Russia and proRussian separatists have been fighting Ukraine since years. It is unclear when or how he was captured.
Rudenko can be heard telling Pinner Russian that his unit "had zero chance" in Mariupol.
Rudenko claims that the 36th brigade servicemen said their command sent them to die in order to make them heroes later." Rudenko does not provide any evidence. "You didn't have any chance to reach this settlement Zachatovka because Russian and DPR [Donetsk People's Republic] soldiers were everywhere."
Pinner describes earlier in the video how he and his team attempted to flee the area.
"We were in Mariupol's industrial zone, so it was decided that we should leave. But I don't know where exactly. Pinner stated that we began moving around at four o'clock Tuesday morning. "It was dark so we took the wounded along with us. The first mortar and artillery fires began, then military aviation was activated, and panic ensued.
Pinner posted another clip Monday in which he appealed to Boris Johnson, the U.K. Prime Minster, to get Aslin and his release by exchanging them with Viktor Medvedchuk, a pro-Kremlin Ukrainian Oligarch.
According to Ukrainian officials, Medvedchuk was a close friend of Russian President Vladimir Putin and was trying to flee Ukraine towards Russia when he was captured by Ukrainian special forces.
Pinner's appeal was made just minutes after Medvedchuk, a Ukrainian security guard, released a video in which he begged for his release.
Another Russian propaganda video showed Aslin handcuffed with bruises and cuts on his face. This is in keeping with Russian state TV talk points about "Nazi atrocities” in Ukraine. It's how Moscow justified their invasion.
Aslin, a former care worker, joined the Ukrainian Marines in 2018. He also fought for the Syrian Kurdish YPG during 2015 against the Islamic State, The Guardian reported.
Russian state TV claimed they were both "British merchants" who surrendered at Mariupol. Pinner's family denied this claim and said that Pinner, a former soldier from Britain, had moved to Ukraine four year ago and joined the Ukrainian military.
"Shaun loved the Ukrainian way and considered Ukraine his adopted country for the past four years." He met his Ukrainian wife during this period, who is very focused about the humanitarian needs of the nation," the family explained to the BBC.
Pinner told the Daily Mail in a February interview that he had previously served in Royal Anglian Regiment, and now fights with the Ukrainian army as "contract soldier".
He spoke from outside Mariupol and said that he was here to defend his family and adopted city. Russia funded and drove Russia to start this war. We will not let them down, make no mistake.
The Guardian was also informed by Aslin's family that Ukraine is "his adopted country" and that he is currently engaged to a Ukrainian woman.
In a statement, the families stated that they were working with the U.K. Foreign Office "to ensure their rights as prisoners-of-war are upheld pursuant to the Geneva Convention," which requires humane treatment for those captured during hostilities.
The Foreign Office called upon the Kremlin also to treat U.K citizens humanely, and condemned "the exploitation prisoner of war for political ends."
After weeks of siege, Mariupol looks at the edge of falling under Russian control. This could be a major military victory for Moscow after a failed attempt in seizing the capital and the loss to its flagship Black Sea cruiser Moskva.
Capturing Mariupol would allow Russia to take control of significant territory in the south. This could give them the ability to attack other parts of Ukraine's east.
