BUT second British soldier fighting with Ukrainian army paraded on Russian television after the capture in besieged city of Mariupol.
Sean Pinner said he fought alongside the Ukrainian Marines when Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded nearly eight weeks ago.
48-year-old former British soldier looked tired and bruised in a short propaganda video broadcast by a Russian media on Saturday night.
He says: “Hi, I’m Sean Pinner, I’m a citizen of United Kingdom. i was captured in Mariupol. I am a part of 36th brigade of the first battalion of the marines of Ukraine.
“I fought in Mariupol for five to six weeks and now I in Donetsk People’s Republic.
It is unknown when the video was taken or what led to Pinner’s death. capture. He fought alongside his friend Aiden Eslin, 28, from Nottinghamshire. who it is believed that he surrendered to the Russians military last a week after his battalion ran out of ammunition.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office was in contact with Eslin family to support them. However, UK ability to provide consular assistance or receive information about British citizens in Ukraine is extremely limited by the war.
Pinner, originally from Bedfordshire, is believed to have moved to Ukraine four years ago and lived with his wife in Donbass. former A soldier of the Royal Anglian Regiment said in January that it was founded in trenches 10 miles outside Mariupol.
He told Mail.ru on Sunday in January: “I’m here to protect my family and accepted city. Russia started this war. It is funded by Russia and run by Russia, but we will fight don’t do them mistake about it.”
Pinner also said of his fear of capture: “I’m afraid for my life. Russians will treat us otherwise, if we are captured, because we are British. It’s always on my mind that I’ll be captivated.”
He said he’s fighting in the trenches were”like hell”, with snipers are frighteningly close. He added: “The separatists are now using drones drop bombs and mortars – along with automatic grenade launchers and [shoulder-fired] RPG missiles. Snipers are always present and there small arms fire almost daily.
“Ukrainian forces react if we believe our lives are in danger, while the separatists seem to fire when they feel like it.
“Sometimes very scary no matter how you are used to. Sometimes you hear it [explosions] start further down contact line, then it passes through your position. That’s why you have time to dive for cover and sometimes you can get warning in advance. Snipers less than 600 meters away.”
