UK Seeks Release of Two Condemned Britons

UK will ‘do whatever is necessary’ to secure Britons release – Truss

UK Seeks Release of Two Condemned Britons

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss has said the UK government will do “whatever is necessary” to secure the release of two Britons condemned to death by a Russian proxy court in Ukraine.

Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin “were captured while serving with the Ukrainian army and tried as mercenaries, in what was described as an illegal show trial in the self-declared Donetsk People’s Republic last week.”

Truss did not rule out the possibility of negotiating directly with the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic, but refused to go into details.

“I am doing everything I can, in the best way I can – in the way that I judge is most effective – to deliver these people’s release.”

She maintained “the best route” to secure their release was through the Ukrainians, reiterating that the two men were prisoners of war and should be treated according to the Geneva convention.

“We are working flat out on this,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged his ministers to do “everything in their power” to secure the pair’s freedom.

BBC /Shakirat Sadiq