UK man surrenders in Mariupol after marine unit runs out of weapons
A British man fighting for Ukraine in the besieged city of Mariupol was forced to surrender Tuesday after his unit ran out of ammunition — making him the first known UK prisoner of Russia’s war, according to reports.
Aiden Aslin, 27, a member of Ukraine’s marines, surrendered along with his unit during an intensified assault from Russia that is feared to have included phosphorous bombs or even chemical weapons.
“He called me and said they have no weapons left to fight,” his mom, Ang Wood, .
“I love my son. He is my hero. They put up one hell of a fight,” she said, calling on British leader Boris Johnson “to take [Russian President Vladimir] Putin down.”
Aslin, a former care wor൲ker in Nottinghamshire who moved to Ukraine in 2018 to be with his fiancee, told friends that﷽ his unit ran out of food as well as ammunition and other supplies, the BBC said.
“They can’t get out. They can’t fight back. So they had no choice,” one friend said.
“I’m sure if they had a bullet left, they would have shot it.”
Britishthat Aslin — also known as Cossack Gundî or Johnny — surrendered with his unit after “they fought like hell for 48 days.”
“Aiden will become a Prisoner of War of the Russians,” the reporter said.
It makes him the first known British prisoner of war in the Ukraine conflict, and his family is already hoping for a priꦍsoner exchange, .
Before surrendering, Aslin reportedly posted a message telling friends, “It’s been a pleasure everyone, I hope this war ends soon.”
The British fighter was a member of the 39th Brigade Ukrainian Marines,— just one of the units in M🌞ariupol admitting desperate conditions and likely defeat.
“For more than a month, we fought without resupplying our ammunitio🌸n, without food, without water,” the 36th Brigade wrote 𝔍in an, saying its heroic troops had been “bombed from airplanes and shot at by artillery and tanks.”
At least half the unit🐽 has been wounded — but immediately returned to battle, including chefs and me﷽mbers of the orchestra, the unit said.
“Dying but fighting … gradually we are coming to an end,” the unit said.
“It’s death for some of us, and captivity for the res🐎t. Do not talk badly about the Marines. For we are FAITHFUL FOREVER!”
The latest doomed reports from Mariupol — a linchpin between Russian-held aꦯreas to the west and east — come after alarming reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons in the almost completely razed city, where tens of ✤thousands are feared dead.
However, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said Tuesday that there is now “a theory that these could be phosphorous munitions,” which are not classified as chemical warfare.
Mariupol’s city council said it is impossible to examine the area because of enemy fire. It added that the city’s civilian population had minimal contact with the unspecified poison but that Ukrainian soldiers had come into closer contact and were now being observed for possible symptoms.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Monday night that Russia could resort to chemical weapons as it massed troops in the eastern Donbas region for a new assault on Mariupol. He did notꦿ say if they actually had been used.
The US and Britain said they were trying to ve🍸rify the reports.
If Russia had used chemical weapons, “all options were on the table” in response, British Junior Defense Minister James Heappey said in London.
Chemical weapons production, use and sto⭕ckpiling is banned under the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention. Although condemned by human rights groups, white phosphorous is not banned under the convention.
Russian has 💮not yet commented on the accusations. However, Russian-backed separatist forces in the east denied using chemical weapoཧns in Mariupol, the Interfax news agency reported.
With Post wires
