British fighter Aiden Aslin RETURNS to the Ukrainian frontline, 18 months after he was released and flown back to Britain after being captured by pro-Russians and sentenced to death

British fighter Aiden Aslin has returned to the Ukrainian frontline, just 18 months after he was released by his Russian captors and flown back to Britain.

Aslin, 30, who was held as a prisoner of war for six months before being released in 2022, is now in the embattled Ukrainian city of Avdiivka – a key frontline hellhole in the war.

The Brit said he was delivering medical supplies to Ukrainian soldiers stationed there instead of fighting, with Aslin sharing a video of himself in the war-torn city.

Aslin was captured by Russian forces in April 2022 during fighting in Mariupol and would face a firing squad after being sentenced to death.

But Saudi Crown Prince and ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich helped secure his release in September 2022 and he returned to Britain to be reunited with his family.

And now, 18 months later, Aslin has returned to the front line, with the former British soldier posting images of Avdiivka as the sound of shellfire fills the air.

Mr Aslin, 28, (pictured) was captured by Russian forces during fighting in Mariupol in April and was expected to face a firing squad before his release

A Ukrainian soldier fires at the Russian position while the Ukrainian soldiers of the artillery unit wait for ammunition assistance on the front line in the direction of Avdiivka on December 28

He said, ‘We are here in Avdiivka. Just left.’

Aslin later said: “We visited Avdivvka today to deliver crucial medical supplies to the civilians surviving in the city or what is left of it.

‘Like many other cities such as Bakhmut and Mariupol, Avdivvka is just a city destroyed by Russia.

“Russians say it’s a green screen.”

He praised Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky and his visits to war zones.

“Zelensky has nerve to stand here without body armor and a helmet,” Aslin said.

There is Russian anger that he has returned to the war zone, even in the capacity of sending supplies.

“While in captivity, Aslin asked for forgiveness from the people of Donbas and Russia for serving in the Ukrainian forces,” the pre-war channel Bloknot Russia said. “It turns out he hasn’t drawn any conclusions for himself.”

Aiden was captured by the Russians in April 2022 while fighting as a Ukrainian Marine in Mariupol.

Two months later he was sentenced to death by the so-called authorities in the pro-Russian Donetsk People’s Republic.

British citizens Aiden Aslin (L) and Shaun Pinner (R) and Moroccan Saaudun Brahim (C) attend a sentencing hearing at the Supreme Court of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine on June 9, 2022 .

Mr Aslin (pictured), from Newark, Nottinghamshire, said his motivation for returning was his love for his adopted country Ukraine, despite his brush with death

During his captivity, he became the subject of propaganda images by Russian-backed forces.

But on July 5, 2022, Aslin’s defense team filed an appeal and requested that the verdict be dismissed due to lack of evidence of a crime.

Three months later, Saudi Crown Prince and ex-Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich helped secure his release in September 2022 and returned to Britain to be reunited with his family.

But in November that year, he revealed he was returning to Ukraine as a “war correspondent” on YouTube.

Mr Aslin, from Newark, Nottinghamshire, said at the time that his motivation for returning was his love for his adopted country Ukraine, despite having to deal with death just months earlier.

He said, ‘It’s my home. Obviously I don’t want to be captured again, but I feel like there’s still work to be done. There are stories that need to be told.

‘I promised my fiancée that I wouldn’t go back to the army. I don’t expect to ever pick up a gun again.

“I know I may be a recognizable face in Ukraine, but I think it’s worth the risk.”

He said he also wants to bring eyewitness accounts to a wide audience in the West and keep the suffering in the public’s attention.