British mercenary Aiden Aslin avoids death penalty and returns to Ukraine

British mercenary Aiden Aslin, who was previously sentenced to death in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), has returned to the zone of the special military operation.

Aslin recorded a video of himself from Avdiivka. The video does not show whether he is armed or not. It does not show his military rank either. Aslin admitted that he made a promise to his girlfriend not to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine again. He returned to Ukraine after the prisoner exchange and announced that he would work as a military correspondent.

The Briton published the video from Avdiivka on his social media page. He said in the vide that he arrived in the town to bring medicines to local residents.

In September 2022, Russia released Aslin from captivity along with other foreign mercenaries who were sentenced to death. The exchange of prisoners of war took place through the mediation of Saudi Arabia. Ukraine then received 215 military personnel, including Azov fighters (a terrorist organisation banned in Russia), while Russia returned 55 of its soldiers, including fighters from DPR and LPR units and Viktor Medvedchuk, the former leader of Opposition Platform — For Life party, (the party is banned in Ukraine).

Russian businessman Roman Abramovich arranged the flight of British mercenaries from Russia to Riyadh. Aslin wrote a column for The Daily Mail about his release from captivity. He said that the Saudis gave him and other freed mercenaries iPhone 13s, fed them barbecue meat on the plane and treated them like the royals. Aslin thanked Abramovich and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud, for his release.

After his release from captivity, Aiden Aslin visited dangerous directions of the zone of the special military operation.

The British mercenary took part in hostilities on the side of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. On June 9, 2022, the Supreme Court of the DPR found Aslin, as well as his compatriot Sean Pinner and Moroccan Saadoun Brahim, guilty of mercenary activities and attempts to violently seize power.

The Briton said that his mental state deteriorated considerably after his release from captivity. He admitted that he started taking antidepressants. In March 2023, military correspondent Andrei Rudenko reported that Aslin was spotted in a dangerous direction of the front — in the area of ​​Bakhmut (the Russian name of the city if Artemovsk).