British officer forced to sing Russian national anthem in jail after being captured

Amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, visuals have emerged showing a British man who was captured by Kremlin troops in Ukraine singing the Russian national anthem. In the images shared on Daily Mail, Aiden Aslin is seen standing and singing the State Anthem of the Russian Federation. Along with Aslin, John Dougan, who is an American former police officer, is also seen smirking. 

As per the UK-based website, the footage of Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, emerged after the report came that another British detainee, Paul Urey, had died in custody. Aslin was detained alongside another Briton, Shaun Pinner, by Pro-Moscow separatists in June, and since then he has been kept under tight security. Although they were professional soldiers, the Pro-Moscow group accused them of being guilty of "mercenary activities and committing actions aimed at seizing power and overthrowing the constitutional order of the DPR," reported Sky.com, citing the Russian Interfax news agency.

However, Aslin's family said in a statement that they were not "mercenaries." They added, saying, "We love Aiden with all our hearts." "He and Shaun, as members of the Ukrainian armed forces, should be treated with respect just like any other prisoners of war," reported Sky News. They also called on the British and Ukrainian regimes to "do everything in their power to save them." They further said, " It added, "We can only imagine what they are going through right now. This is a very upsetting development."

Meanwhile, it has also come to the fore that around 500 Russian troops are currently staying at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also being used to store armaments, including missile systems, which are being used to shell the other side of the River Dnipro, per Ukrainian nuclear energy agency Energoatom. Since the start of the war, Russian forces have had full control over the nuclear power plant in south-eastern Ukraine. 

Russia-Ukraine war: Over 38,000 Russian troops eliminated, says Kyiv

After Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin ordered the unjustified invasion of Ukraine, hostilities between neighbouring nations have resulted in massive destruction and killing of thousands on both sides. Till now, there have been no talks to cease the ongoing conflict. In its latest update, Ukrainian Armed Forces on Saturday announced that they have managed to eliminate a total of 38,140 Russian soldiers since the beginning of the war. In addition to this, a total of 220 planes, 1677 tanks, 188 helicopters, 3874 APV, 15 boats/cutters, 846 artillery systems, and 687 UAVs among other war equipment were destroyed by the Ukrainian troops, Kyiv claimed.

Image: AP/ Representative