Ms Troy said she had spoken to her Ukrainian counterpart to “discuss efforts to secure the release of prisoners of war held by Russian proxies”. “The United Kingdom continues to support Ukraine against Putin’s barbaric invasion,” he wrote on Twitter. Putin implies more intrusions on ominous comments – follow the latest updates Aiden Aslin, 28, and Shaun Pinner, 48, have been charged as mercenaries after being arrested in Mariupol in April during a fierce battle for control of the port city and later appearing in the court of the Donetsk Autonomous People’s Republic (DPR). . Prime Minister Boris Johnson is said to be “terrified” by the sentences imposed on them and ordered ministers to do “everything in their power” to secure their release. A spokesman for No. 10 said: “The prime minister was terrified of the conviction of these men. possible. “We fully condemn the false death sentence of these men. There is absolutely no justification for this violation of the protection to which they are entitled.” Asked if the UK government would negotiate with Russia to secure their release, the spokesman said: “We have no regular interaction with the Russians.” They said “priority” was to work with the Ukrainian government “to try to secure their release as soon as possible”. “They are protected under the Geneva Convention as members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, so we want to continue to work closely with them to try to free them as soon as possible.” Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:18 Aiden Aslin reacts to the death penalty Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov declined to comment on the allegations, saying they were under the jurisdiction of the Donetsk People’s Republic. Mr Lavrov told a news conference: “At the moment they are governed by the laws of the Donetsk Democratic Republic. “Because these crimes were committed in the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, everything else is speculation. “I will not comment on the judiciary of the Donetsk People’s Republic.” Earlier on Friday, Cabinet Secretary Robin Walker said the government would use “all diplomatic channels” to bring the two Britons to justice. He told Sky News: “As the Foreign Minister has made clear, we will offer all possible support to them and their families. “We have been very clear all along that these people should be treated as prisoners of war under the Geneva Convention, there is no basis on which they can be tried. “This is an illegal court in a fake government that conducted this trial and we obviously do not recognize that it has any power, but we will continue to use all diplomatic channels to argue that these are prisoners of war who should be treated accordingly.” He added: “We strongly condemn the approach taken here and will use every method at our disposal to resolve this issue.” Subscribe to Ukraine War Calendars on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and Spreaker
