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Daily Mirror
Daily Mirror
National
Adam Dutton & Dan Churcher & Chiara Fiorillo

Brit soldier Aiden Aslin RETURNING to Ukraine 50 days after release from death sentence

British soldier Aiden Aslin has revealed he is returning to Ukraine as a "YouTube war correspondent" just 50 days after being freed from a Russian death sentence.

The 28-year-old was captured by Russian forces in April while fighting in Mariupol and was due to face a firing squad after being sentenced to death.

But the Saudi Crown Prince and ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich helped secure his release in September and he returned to the UK to be reunited with his family.

Aiden, of Newark, Nottinghamshire, said he is returning to Ukraine, not as a fighter, but as a YouTube "war correspondent".

He said he will report on the ongoing conflict for his YouTube channel by spending time on the frontline.

He was captured by Russia and sentenced to death (cossackgundi/Twitter)

Aiden also plans to tell the stories of Ukrainian soldiers and firemen as well as civilians and their battle for survival.

He said: "It's my home. Obviously, I don't want to be captured again, but I feel there is still work to be done. 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.

"I know that I may a recognisable face in Ukraine, but I feel it's worth the risk."

Aiden said his motivation to return was his love for his adopted country of Ukraine despite his brush with death just two months ago.

Aiden Aslin arrives home in Balderton, Newark, in September (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

He said he also wants to bring eyewitness accounts to a wide audience in the West and to keep suffering in the public eye.

Aiden, a serving soldier, was captured during the siege of Mariupol. With the ammunition and stocks of food and water gone, his unit was ordered to surrender.

He laid down his arms, only to be sentenced in a kangaroo court to death by firing squad and living under the constant threat of that sentence being carried out.

When he was released, Aiden's mum spoke out on his " six months of hell " in which her son was sentenced to death.

He was freed after being held captive by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

Ang Wood thought she would never see her son alive again after he was captured earlier this year.

The mum was relieved when her son was freed and 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.

Aiden Aslin's mum Ang Wood thought she would never see her son alive again after he was captured by Russian-backed forces (Tom Maddick / SWNS)

"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."

On his return to Ukraine, Aiden will check on the state of his home near the front line at Kherson.

His Ukrainian fiancée, Diana Okovyta, who arrived in Newark as a refugee, will stay behind, possibly until the war is over.

Aiden added: "I fear the war could drag on another few years unless something happens in Russia politically.

"Ukraine won't give up and has given Russia much more of a bloody nose than what I said before going into combat. Entire units are being wiped out.

"I do believe Ukraine has a real chance of winning this war."

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