former British soldier who is believed to have moved to Ukraine four years ago and was fighting alongside Ukrainian marines before he was captured in southeastern Ukraine.
In a propaganda video aired on Russian television on Saturday night (16 April), Pinner appeared tired and bruised. “Hi, I’m Shaun Pinner. I am a citizen of the UK. I was captured in Mariupol. I am part of the 36 Brigade First Battalion Ukrainian Marines,” he said in the short video. “I was fighting in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I’m in Donetsk People’s Republic.”
Pinner is the second British soldier to be captured by Russian forces, after 28-year-old Aiden Aslin was seen led around in handcuffs with a cut on his forehead, in recent footage of him in captivity. Originally from Nottinghamshire, Aslin was reportedly fighting with the Ukrainian marines and had told his family last week, that they had been left with “no choice but to surrender” to the Russian military since his battalion had run out of ammunition.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London said it has been in contact with the men’s families, but said its ability to obtain information and provide consular assistance to British citizens in Ukraine is extremely limited owing to the war. Pinner is a former Royal Anglian Regiment soldier and has been living with his wife in Donbas, in southeastern Ukraine for four years. In January this year, he revealed that he was based in trenches 10 miles outside the city of Mariupol. “I am here defending my family and adopted city. Russia started this war. It’s funded by Russia and driven by Russia, but we will fight them, make no mistake about that,” he told the Mail on Sunday, at the time. Speaking of his fear of capture he said: “I fear for my life. The Russians will treat us differently if we are captured because we are British. This is always on my mind, that I will be captured.”
