A British citizen who endured months of torture and a death sentence as a prisoner of war in Russia has returned to the front lines in Ukraine, declaring that the West and its ally can still achieve victory.
From Nottingham Carer to Frontline Marine
Aiden Aslin, 31, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, spoke to The Independent's World of Trouble podcast from eastern Ukraine, detailing a journey that took him from working as a carer to fighting in some of the world's most brutal conflicts. His sense of injustice first drove him to join Kurdish forces against ISIS in Syria in 2014, after witnessing the group's atrocities on television.
By 2018, that same conviction led him to a Ukrainian army recruitment office in Kyiv, where officers were initially "bewildered" by the British volunteer. He successfully trained, joined Ukraine's marines, and earned his parachute wings. When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, Aslin was manning a position outside Mariupol.
Capture, Torture, and a Mock Execution
Forced to retreat into the besieged Ilych steelworks, Aslin's unit was eventually surrounded and surrender became inevitable. Upon capture, he expected to be shot. Instead, he was taken to the Russian-occupied city of Donetsk, where his torture began immediately.
"He beat me with a police baton... it turned out it actually stabbed me," Aslin recalled of an encounter with a drunken Russian officer. The physical abuse was systematic. He was forced to crawl with a bag over his head while being beaten, starved, and kept in overcrowded cells. Prisoners were compelled to learn the Russian national anthem and sing it perfectly each morning, and to stand and shout "President of the world!" whenever guards yelled Putin's name.
During a particularly grim interrogation, a torturer lit a cigarette and asked Aslin if he wanted a "beautiful death or a quick death." He was told he would receive the former, and only the intervention of another Russian official prevented his murder.
The Sham Trial and Emotional Lockdown
Aslin, alongside fellow Brit Shaun Pinner and Moroccan Saadoune Brahim, was put on trial, accused of being a mercenary and terrorist. The three-day proceeding was a sham, resulting in a death sentence. Throughout his five-and-a-half-month captivity, Aslin experienced a profound emotional paralysis.
"I so desperately wanted to, I was trying to force myself to let some emotion out," he said. "But because I was too terrified in that place, I wasn't able to cry. In five and a half months of captivity, I never cried once."
His value as a propaganda tool for Russian media likely saved his life, as he could not appear too badly bruised on camera. Unbeknownst to him, negotiations for a prisoner swap were underway. In September 2022, he was exchanged for Russian prisoners in a deal brokered by intelligence services and Saudi Arabia. Only upon seeing British officials did the fear finally subside, allowing him to weep with relief.
Back to the Fight with Unwavering Belief
After returning briefly to the UK, Aslin travelled back to eastern Ukraine in November 2023 and formally re-joined the Ukrainian military in January 2024. He vows to serve until the war is over.
Despite the horrors he witnessed and endured, Aslin remains optimistic about Ukraine's chances. He points to historical examples of defenders ultimately prevailing and believes Russia's economic and social stability is weakening.
"I think Russia can be beaten," he stated. "I think we have got the means to exhaust their economy... The grasp is weakening. There are a lot of things showing that Russia is becoming a lot more destabilised." He is one of thousands of foreign volunteers who answered Ukraine's call, but among the few who were serving before the 2022 invasion.
