Shaun Pinner, 48, was in the hard-fought city of Marieopol in southern Ukraine. He previously served in the Royal Anglian infantry regiment of the British Army, according to the Daily Mail. Now he fought for Kiev, because his wife is Ukrainian.
The man’s family is concerned after a video of Pinner in captivity published by the Russians this weekend. They are calling on the military and Moscow to abide by the Geneva Convention. The Russians may see him as a “foreign mercenary.”
“I fought in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I’m in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” Pinner said in an edited propaganda video. He looks tired in the pictures. In a conversation with a Russian, he is told that he was sent away like cannon fire by the Ukrainian army command to be honored as a hero later. Evidence for this is not provided. “You know more than I do,” Pinner responds.
In a statement, the family said from the United Kingdom that “Shaun enjoyed the Ukrainian way of life.” “He has regarded Ukraine as his adopted country for the past four years. During that time, he met his Ukrainian wife who is very focused on the humanitarian needs of the country.”
“He was part of the Ukrainian Marines and a proud member of his unit. His three-year contract will expire at the end of 2022 and he planned to play a humanitarian role in Ukraine,” the statement said. They are working together with the family of 28-year-old Briton Aiden Aslin, who was also in Mariupol and was captured by Russian troops last week. Aslin also appeared – badly damaged – on Russian images.
Pinner already knew that this day could come, he said in an interview with The Mail last January. “The Russians will treat us differently if we are captured because we are British. It’s always on my mind, that I’ll be captured.”