Ukraine war: Britons held by Russian forces reunite with familyon September 22, 2022 at 10:19 am

Five British nationals captured by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine have returned to the UK.

Aiden Aslin, John Harding, Dylan Healy, Andrew Hill and Shaun Pinner have been reunited with their families after landing at Heathrow Airport.

Ten detainees, including the five Britons, were released after Saudi Arabia said it had brokered an exchange between Russia and Ukraine.

The Presidium Network confirmed the five men were safely home.

A spokesman for the UK-based non-profit organisation, which has been supporting the family of Mr Healy, said they were “looking forward to normality with their families after this horrific ordeal”.

In a video recorded on the plane, Mr Pinner said they had escaped “by the skin of our teeth”.

“We’re now out of the danger zone and on our way home to our families,” Mr Aslin said.

The UK government has not confirmed the process that led to the men’s release.

Mr Aslin, Mr Harding, Mr Hill and Mr Pinner were captured while fighting with Ukrainian forces and had all been living in Ukraine when Russia invaded in February.

Mr Healy, who had been providing humanitarian assistance in Ukraine, is also known to have been detained by Russian-backed forces at a checkpoint in April, alongside Paul Urey who died in July while in detention.

Their release came as part of one of the most significant prisoner swaps of the war so far, with 215 Ukrainian soldiers released – including commanders of the Azov regiment, which defended Mariupol – by Russia.

In exchange, Ukraine handed over 55 Russian soldiers, as well as the pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician and oligarch Victor Medvechuk, who was facing charges of treason.

Prime Minister Liz Truss said the news of the release ended “months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families”.

She thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “for his efforts to secure the release of detainees, and Saudi Arabia for their assistance”.

Mr Aslin’s local MP, Robert Jenrick, told BBC News his family were “over the moon”.

“They’ve been through months of torture, strain and stress as a result of this,” the MP for Newark said.

Foreign Secretary James Cleverly welcomed the release of the British nationals but added: “Tragically that was not the case for one of those detained and our thoughts remain with the family of Paul Urey.”