On Wednesday, the family of a British soldier abducted in Ukraine accused Russia of violating the Geneva Convention by broadcasting a “distressing” footage of him.

On Monday, Russian state television broadcast a video showing Aiden Aslin and another detained British fighter identified as Shaun Pinner pleading for their release in exchange for Viktor Medvedchuk, a rich Ukrainian businessman close to President Vladimir Putin.

“The footage of Aiden speaking under pressure and clearly suffering from bodily injuries is very disturbing,” Aslin’s family stated in a statement posted by his local member of parliament Robert Jenrick.

“The use of photographs and films of prisoners of war is a violation of the Geneva Convention and must be halted.”

According to the statement, the family was in contact with the UK Foreign Office “to ensure that the Russian authorities adhere to their international duties for prisoners of war.”

It stated that it was attempting to “secure Aiden and Shaun’s release.”

“I hope he was handled with care and compassion,” Prime Minister Boris Johnson told MPs on Wednesday.

Additionally, he stated that he “entirely” concurred with Jenrick’s opinion that the video constituted a “flagrant violation of the Geneva Convention” and that “handling any prisoner of war in this fashion is prohibited.”

Aslin relocated to Ukraine in 2018 and has been a member of the Ukrainian Marines for around four years. He was photographed looking weary last week, just before he appeared in the video.

Together with Pinner, he sought a prisoner swap with Putin loyalist Medvedchuk, who was just jailed in Ukraine.

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