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Aiden Aslin joined the Ukrainian marines in 2018, compelled to defend his adopted homeland from the growing threat of Russian invasion. In February 2022, as Russia mounted a full-scale offensive, Aiden and his unit were stationed at the frontline at Mariupol.

Pinned down at a Mariupol steelworks, after a month-long siege and running out of supplies, Aiden was part of the mass surrender of over a thousand Ukrainian troops, in April 2022. Then his real ordeal began.

Singled out for his British passport, Aiden was interrogated, tortured, stabbed, turned into a propaganda zombie, tried by a kangaroo court and then sentenced to death. A victim of a catalogue of abuses of international law, Aiden struggled to cling on to any hope of survival. Certain that he was going to be executed, he was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange and permitted to return home.

In Putin's Prisoner, Aiden will tell the full, harrowing story of his time fighting in Putin's war, of his six months in Russian captivity, and of his hardened resolve to defend the freedoms of the people of Ukraine.

©2023 Aiden Aslin & John Sweeney (P)2023 Penguin Audio

"A great read. An amazing story." - Jeremy Vine

"A graphic account of the conditions endured by those who attempt to defy Russian aggression." - Daily Mail

"Engaging and horrifying in equal measure. A powerful story and insight into modern war." - Soldier

"Horrifying, heart-rending, inspiring. Five stars." - Army Rumour Service

"Both a warning and a message of hope. Aslin survived to tell his story - and we should listen." - Irish Independent