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Diplomat notes Moscow didn’t get any inquiries from London for convicted UK mercenaries

It is also emphasized that despite claims by the UK officials, those individuals are mercenaries and not POWs

MOSCOW, June 10. /TASS/. The United Kingdom has not addressed the Russian Foreign Ministry with regards to Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, which specifically means that London is not concerned about their fate, according to a commentary by Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on the verdict handed down to the two UK mercenaries by the DPR Supreme Court published on Friday.

The diplomat put the spotlight on "the panicky, sometimes even hysteria-driven reaction from London, including [that of] Foreign Secretary Liz Truss to the decision issued by the DPR Supreme Court with regards to UK citizens Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin accused of taking part in combat as mercenaries on the side of Ukraine and sentenced to capital punishment for the totality of the crimes committed."

"We would also like to note that the Russian Foreign Ministry received no appeals from the UK side specifically concerning Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin. It is possible to draw an unequivocal conclusion from this that until now London has essentially not been interested in the fate of these citizens. And now the UK leadership, clearly exonerating itself, is attempting to solve the problems by trumpeting long-winded statements," the spokeswoman added.

She also emphasized that despite claims by the UK officials, those individuals are mercenaries and not POWs (prisoners of war). "According to international humanitarian law, the mercenaries sent by the West to help the nationalistic Kiev regime are not combatants and are not entitled to POW status," the diplomat noted.

According to her, the Russian side repeatedly informed the UK Embassy in Moscow that all questions concerning the captured British nationals in question should be addressed to the authorities of the DPR or LPR. "As far as we understand, London has not shown any initiative on this, even despite appeals by the mercenaries’ relatives to the UK authorities," the spokeswoman pointed out.

On Thursday, it became known that the UK national Shaun Pinner who was handed the death penalty in the DPR was earlier recognized as a terrorist in the UK.

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