There have been constant reports about the kind of experiences soldiers are experiencing in Russia. It seems that Putin is breaking all of the rules of war so that he can win the war against Ukraine – even if it means treating those who have been captured as less than human.
A British man who was captured by Russian-backed soldiers in Ukraine has shared how he was brutally beaten as well as stabbed. He was then asked if the man wanted a “quick” or “beautiful” death.
Aiden Aslin, who has made his way back to the UK according to The Sun this past Sunday said that he had been in solitary confinement for five months, and “treated worse than a dog”.
He also said that other prisoners were made to perform the Russian national anthem every day. If they refused, they were “punished for doing so. The punishment was beating.”
Aslin was one of the 10 detainees freed on Wednesday evening following an exchange Saudi Arabia said it had concluded between Russia with Ukraine.
Five of them were freed British Nationals: Aslin, John Harding, Shaun Pinner, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill.
Aslin, originally of Newark, Nottinghamshire, had established a new life in Ukraine in 2018after after falling in love with a Ukrainian lady, Diane Okovyta, and joined the Marines.
He was arrested in April, while fighting the city Mariupol and was tried together with Pinner along with Brahim Saadoun who is a Moroccan citizen. They were informed that they could face the death penalty.
After he was handed the punishment, Aslin said he wanted to cry, but was unable. “It was literally a matter of surviving,” Aslin declared.
In jail, Aslin claimed that during his time in prison, Aslin was kept in a double cell, and was sleeping on a mat that was infested with lice and insects like cockroaches. Since it was not a toilet or shower, the prisoners were forced to drink from empty bottles.
He claimed to have survived for three weeks on slices of bread and drinking water. The only time that he was allowed out of the cell was to conduct propaganda or make calls.
He told the story that after his passport was inspected by the Russian soldier, and it became evident that he was from Britain and British, he was slapped on the forehead.
At one point, Aslin’s captors were threatening to remove his ears. He was punished for being tattooed with a Ukrainian trowel and another that referred to his experiences in Syria.
As he recalled being attacked in the back by an axe, Aslin said: “I knew there was a very high possibility I was about to be killed.”
He claimed that a Russian who was in the area of Aslin was able to ask him “Do you want a quick death or a beautiful death?”
Aslin told reporters about the suggestion that he would like a speedy death, but was told: “You’re going to have a beautiful death and I’m going to make sure it’s a beautiful death.”
After getting back together with his mom and girlfriend in the last week Aslin stated: “I never thought I’d get out alive.”
Aslin was at least able to tell his story. But what about others? There’s no telling how many have had to deal with stories that end considerably worse than that of this British national. Will Putin be able to get away with such deaths?
