(LONDON) British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is “appalled” by the death sentences of two Britons by pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, Downing Street said on Friday, saying he was working with Kyiv on their release.
Posted at 5:18 p.m.
The Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner and the Moroccan Brahim Saadoun, taken prisoner in Ukraine where they were fighting for Kyiv, were sentenced to death on Thursday for mercenary action by the justice of the separatist authorities in Donetsk.
“The prime minister is appalled by the sentencing of these men,” his spokesman told reporters, insisting that London “supports Ukraine in its efforts to free them.”
“Clearly they were serving in the Ukrainian Armed Forces and are prisoners of war,” not mercenaries, he added, denying the mercenary charge.
The head of British diplomacy Liz Truss – who on Thursday called the verdict a “simulacrum of judgment without legitimacy” – spoke Friday morning with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba.
She said on Twitter that she discussed with him “efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by the Russians. The judgment against them is a flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention”.
Berlin also found the death sentence for these foreign fighters “shocking” on Friday, while Paris said it was “extremely concerned”.
“These people must be treated with respect for international humanitarian law,” said the French Foreign Ministry in a statement, calling on “Russia and its auxiliaries in Ukraine to respect their obligations in this regard”.
“Price” of an exchange
Aiden Aslin’s family explained at the end of April that he had moved to Ukraine in 2018, where he had met his partner and settled in Mykolaiv (south). He had decided to join the Ukrainian Marines and served in that unit for almost four years.
Shaun Pinner’s family had indicated that he was “neither a volunteer nor a mercenary, but officially serves in the Ukrainian army in accordance with Ukrainian legislation”. He also moved to Ukraine in 2018 and married a Ukrainian.
Asked about the BBC on the possible way to free them, the Ukrainian ambassador in London, Vadym Prystaïko, specified that “it will be an exchange”: “The question is what will be the price, because the Russians speak of an exchange with Ukrainian deputies” who have worked for the benefit of Russia.
He recalled that these British fighters had “contracts with the (Ukrainian) armed forces, they lived in Ukraine before”.
“They are prisoners of war and should be treated as such, the same way we treat Russians in captivity,” he pleaded.
MP and former Conservative minister Robert Jenrick, who represents Mr Aslin’s constituency, has called on the Foreign Office to summon the Russian ambassador to the UK. He claimed to have received guarantees from the Ukrainian authorities that MM. Aslin and Pinner would be released on a priority basis with a view to an exchange of prisoners between Kyiv and Moscow.
On Friday, the UN expressed its “concern” after the death sentences of the three foreign fighters.
“According to the Commander-in-Chief of Ukraine, all these men were part of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. If so, they should not be considered mercenaries,” said a spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ravina Shamdasani.
Four foreign volunteer soldiers, including a Frenchman, were killed fighting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, announced the Lidu, the official body for foreign volunteer fighters.
Russia for its part claimed this week to have killed “hundreds” of foreign fighters in Ukraine since the start of its offensive on February 24, managing according to it to stem the flow of newcomers.