Aidan Aslan and two other men, one British and one Moroccan were handed out the sentence by a pro-Russian court in Donbas in June this year.
Robert Jenrick, Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care and MP for Newark said:
‘I am delighted that my constituent, Aiden Aslin, and the other British prisoners of war held captive by the Russian authorities have finally been released and are on their way back to the UK.
‘I am deeply grateful for the work undertaken by the Ukrainian government, the Saudi Crown Prince, Liz Truss and James Cleverly – and the dedicated civil servants working in the FCDO Detainees team to bring their horrific ordeal to a close.
‘Aiden’s return brings to an end months of agonising uncertainty for Aiden’s loving family in Newark who suffered every day of Aiden’s sham trial but never lost hope. As they are united as a family once more, they can finally be at peace.’
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said:
“I welcome the safe return of Ukrainian prisoners of war and one civilian, including five British nationals.
“Prisoners of war from other countries held by Russia-backed proxies have also been returned.
“This brings to an end many months of uncertainty and suffering, including the threat of the death penalty, for them and their families, at the hands of Russia.
“Tragically that was not the case for one of those detained and our thoughts remain with the family of Paul Urey.
“I would like to express my gratitude to President Zelenskyy and his team for their efforts to secure their release, and to HRH Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed bin Salman and his team, for their assistance.
“I continue to call on Russia to comply with International Humanitarian Law and not exploit prisoners of war and civilian detainees for political purposes.
Aidan Aslin is from Newark in Nottinghamshire, and his family said he moved to Mykolaiv in Ukraine in 2018.
He joined the Ukrainian military as a marine in 2018, became engaged to marry a Ukrainian woman, and settled in the country.
The former care worker had in the past been fighting with Kurdish armed units in Syria against Islamic State units.
