Brit freed from Russian prison says he was welcomed on plane by Roman Abramovich
A British national released by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s troops in Ukraine claims he was welcomed onto a plane by billionaire former Chelsea owned Roman Abramovich.
In total, five Brits were released after talks led by wrestling fan Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman took place over the weekend.
The ones who now have freedom are Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, Andrew Hill, Dylan Healy and John Harding.
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The group were all captured in the contested Russian-occupied region of Donetsk, where a puppet court found sentenced them to death earlier this year.
However, they are now free – although will be kept in Turkey for the time being.
(Image: Sky News)
And, speaking to The Sun, John Harding said: “I didn’t even notice but Shaun said it looked like him.
He went over to him on the plane and asked where he was from and Roman said ‘London’.
“Then Shaun said, ‘You really look like Roman Abramovich’ and he replied, ‘That’s because I am him, sir’. He couldn’t believe it.
“I joked that Shaun is a West Ham fan and we all laughed.”
(Image: UEFA via Getty Images)
John was arrested while serving for the second battalion in the Azov regiment.
Despite Putin ramping up his war rhetoric this week by claiming he was going to unleash nuclear weapons on Europe, it appears he is willing to negotiate in certain circumstance.
Five foreign soldiers were also released as part of the deal, which saw Russian soldiers sent the other way.
Mr Harding, recalling his time in Putin’s death prison, said: “I thought, ‘I just wish they’d f***ing kill me now’.
(Image: Getty Images Europe)
“That was the worst moment — the way they treated us was appalling. In my head I just told myself, ‘I’ve been hit harder by my sister’.
“If I’d have known how we’d be treated before we surrendered, I would’ve stayed and set up a sniper’s nest and just tried to take a few of them out before I got killed.
“The other prisoners and I kept our spirits up by having a laugh with each other through our cells.
“We’d joke about how we liked our steak cooked since we were eating only bread.”
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