Prisoner of War | Ukraine Marines | Tortured in Captivity by Russia | Aiden Aslin (Round 2)

About This Episode
This is the true and frightening Combat Story of Aiden Aslin, a British citizen fighting for the Ukrainian military who was taken as a POW and then beaten and stabbed by his Russian captors for over five months.
Listeners will recall our first interview with Aiden from Feb 5th, 2022 (https://youtu.be/IbHSQ1xzpRc), just weeks before the Russian invasion where he predicted what would come after two deployments to the frontlines in Ukraine and significant fighting in Syria.
Aiden was fighting on the front lines in the Donbas region of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, when Russia, completely unprovoked, invaded Ukraine. His unit fell back to the steel factory Mariupol where it was surrounded by Russian and Donetsk People’s Republic (or DPR, which is Russia’s foot soldiers and lackeys in Donetsk).
Out of food and ammunition, Aiden’s unit would eventually surrender to the Russian military which promptly handed Aiden over to the DPR for regular beatings and violations of the Geneva Convention which surprised nobody.
In our interview, Aiden recounts the harrowing experience of being on the frontlines when Russia invaded and how he survived captivity, without any of the advanced training that people like myself received regularly while in service to survive and escape these situations to return with dignity.
I’m sure you will be amazed at Aiden’s spirit and strength that pulled him through this difficult time and it will be a stark reminder for each of us that our day-to-day problems are not as hard as we might think when compared with what he endured.
As you can imagine, I was elated to hear of Aiden’s release in September and was nearly brought to tears after seeing his face again as we started this interview. Please enjoy this rare glimpse of hope and optimism from someone who survived a history-altering invasion and months in captivity as a modern-day POW as much as I did.
Definitions: You’ll hear a reference to “GRADS” which is a mobile artillery vehicle used by the Russians that fire 122mm rounds (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BM-21_Grad). You'll hear DPR, which is the Donetsk People’s Republic.
Show Notes: and making propaganda videos and being POW in the era of technology
This video covers the following subjects:
- Prisoner of War - Ukraine Marines - Tortured in Captivity by Russia - Ukraine Military - Ukraine War - POW - Modern POW
Aiden Aslin is a British-born dual citizen of the United Kingdom and Ukraine who was captured by Russian forces in April 2022 while fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol. He was sentenced to death on 9 June by authorities of the Russian-backed breakaway unrecognized puppet state. Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) for "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR. He was released from Russian captivity in a prisoner exchange in September 2022.
If you would like to learn more about Prisoner of War, Aiden Aslin I suggest you look into our various other video clips: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCyApoJr-mNmdMNwdk22xEQ _________________________
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Aiden Aslin (Round 2)
Chapters
- 0:00Intro
- 1:05Guest Introduction (Aiden Aslin)
- 2:59Interview begins
- 8:19Fighting on the front lines February 24, 2022 when Russia invades Ukraine
- 37:47Knowing they were encircled
- 50:33Being on the receiving end of an air strike
- 56:52Choosing to surrender and live
- 1:01:20Steps taken while preparing for surrender
- 1:09:09Being processed by Russion military after surrender
- 1:22:33Interrogations and beatings and getting stabbed
- 1:30:28Keeping spirits up in the cell
- 1:38:30False charges and getting sentanced to death
- 1:41:50What kept you going?
- 1:48:14Returning with dignity
- 1:56:04What did you want to do when you had your freedom?
- 2:02:43Are you going do anything differently now?
- 2:06:52Listener comments and shout outs


