Britons captured in Ukraine appear on Russian TV, ask for swap with Putin ally
Categories: UK NEWS
April 18 (Reuters) - Two British fighters captured in Ukraine by Russian forces appeared on Russian state TV on Monday and asked to be exchanged for a Ukrainian ally of President Vladimir Putin who is being held by the Ukrainian authorities.It was unclear how freely the two men - Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin - were able to talk. Both spoke separately after being prompted by an unidentified man. The footage was broadcast on the Rossiya 24 state TV channel.The two men asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to exchange them for pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Medvedchuk was shown asking to be swapped too in a video released around the same time on Monday by Ukraine's SBU intelligence service via social media.Medvedchuk, in his appeal to Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskiy, asked to be exchanged for the "defenders of Mariupol and its citizens who are there today and have no opportunity for a safe exit through a humanitarian corridor."Medvedchuk is the leader of Ukraine's Opposition Platform - For Life party and an ally of Putin who spent years advocating closer ties between Russia and Ukraine. Both Pinner and Aslin fought on the Ukrainian side in Mariupol, which is now almost entirely under Russian control apart from the sprawling Azovstal steelworks where some Ukrainian fighters remained holed up.Three days after Russia moved its forces into Ukraine on Feb. 24, Ukraine said Medvedchuk had escaped from house arrest. He had been confined to his home in May 2021 and charged with high treason and later with aiding terrorism. "If Boris Johnson really does care like he says he does about British citizens then he would help pressure Zelenskiy to do the right thing and return Viktor to his family and return us to our families."The British Foreign Office had no immediate comment on the footage but released a statement made by the Pinner family.Russia has said it will keep a close eye on Medvedchuk's fate and last week told Ukraine "to watch out" after Kyiv captured him and released photographs of him in handcuffs.