The man behind the YouTube video that saw war prisoner Aiden Aslin speaking after he was captured by Russians has reportedly become the first UK citizen put on a government sanctions list. Graham William Phillips, a journalist originally from Nottingham, said he will be handed a "complete asset freeze" after posting pro-Kremlin material from Russian-occupied areas on his YouTube channel.
Phillips has been a controversial figure, receiving medals from the Russian state for his reporting. He has previously worked for the Kremlin-backed television channel RT and been accused of spreading Moscow’s propaganda.
Answering questions by email to Nottinghamshire Live, Phillips has described the sanction as "an immoral attempt of the UK Government to drive me into exile". He added: "The designation of myself as a UK government approved 'enemy of the state' has resulted in a slew of death threats against myself, and family, and a severe escalation in the danger to my life, and those of my family members."
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He is one of 42 new designations added to the UK’s Russia sanctions list. Other additions include Russia’s minister and deputy minister of justice and two nephews of the Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov, who was himself placed under sanctions by Britain in March.
Graham Phillips has 1,869 videos and 328,000 subscribers on his YouTube video channel. Back in April, the pro-Kremlin journalist drew condemnation from Boris Johnson and others when he interviewed Aiden Aslin, a British member of the Ukrainian armed forces who had been captured by Russian forces during the siege of Mariupol.
Aslin is now facing the death penalty. Asked whether he has any regrets towards the interview, Phillips said the video was a "quality piece of journalistic work".
He added: "How could I regret doing an interview with Aiden when, knowing my work, he asked himself to be interviewed by me? And I then carried that interview out, professionally.
"Further, from Aiden's point of view, it gave him the unique opportunity to communicate with his family, and make an appeal directly to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson. However, no one was interested in any of that, from the UK, it was all just about demonising the guy who did the interview. Ok then. From my side, no regrets, because there is nothing to regret, I'm proud of the interview with Aiden as a quality piece of journalistic work."
Aiden Aslin, 28, originally from Newark, was captured while fighting for Ukrainian armed forces and has appeared in a YouTube video calling for his freedom 'under duress'. The 45-minute film was released online, with the Google-owned platform taking down the video on April 22.
During the film, Mr Aslin answers 'no' when asked several times if he was speaking under duress. Questioned by Phillips, he recounts his time with the Ukrainian military and repeats several of Moscow’s propaganda lines, including that he was a mercenary and not a legitimate combatant.
Phillips added: "I don't personally 'feel' anything in particular about any of that, or Aiden himself- my love is with the people of Donbass, and not with those who came here to kill them. Aiden to me is a mercenary I interviewed here in Donbass in April, nothing more or less."
Contrary to the Kremlin’s propaganda and Phillips' claims, Aiden Aslin is not a mercenary. In a previous interview with Nottinghamshire Live, his mum Ang Wood explained that Aiden has been living in Ukraine and serving in its armed forces before Russia’s illegal invasion.
But the soldier from Newark is now facing a death penalty. Councillor Keith Girling, the Armed Forces Champion for Nottinghamshire County Council, said he thinks and hopes that Aiden's sentence is nothing more than a 'Russian manoeuvre'.
Cllr Girling, who served 18 years in the Grenadier Guards, has spoken about the Phillips' interview, adding: "Clearly, he [Phillips] had his own agenda and the message that he wants to get across is that we supported Russia's point of view, which makes you wonder about the motivation and the agenda of this particular individual.
"It always, always upsets me when any media tries to exploit such a situation. I think it is really poor.
"What we really want is to make sure that any prisoner of war is treated fairly in line with the Geneva Convention, and when the war is over, they will be repatriated back to their country. That is the whole point of the convention, that once you have been captured you are treated fairly as a prisoner of war."
He explained the difference between a mercenary and soldier, adding: "Aiden is not a mercenary. If he was a mercenary he would have gone over the war zone to fight. He would have been paid, or just watered and fed.
"Aiden joined the Ukrainian Army. They did training before the war started, and he has got roots in Ukraine, so there is perfectly acceptable for him to want to join the Ukrainian Army.
"I find it a bit ludicrous that the stone of him being a mercenary has been thrown but again, what do Russian propaganda ever had to do with the truth? They will manipulate the situation to best suit them."
He described Aiden's threat of execution as a "psychological warfare", adding: "The Russian government will sick to try and achieve what they want to achieve. It is very distasteful, and despicable. At the end of the day there is not a great deal apart from negotiating with Russians.
"The UK government will not just sit back, but they cannot invade Russia. There will be swaps and negotiations. I have actually served while the Cold War was on and that was the thing that went on."
An FCDO spokesperson said: “We condemn the exploitation of prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes and have raised this with Russia. We are in constant contact with the Government of Ukraine on their cases and are fully supportive of Ukraine in its efforts to get them released.”
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