Shaun Pinner: Briton who was captured by Russian forces in Ukraine reveals his message for Putin
A British national captured by Russian forces while fighting alongside Ukrainian troops has recalled how he was tortured and left unable to walk during his ordeal.
Shaun Pinner was among five Britons released from Russian detention in Ukraine in a prisoner swap last September.
Appearing on this week’s Beth Rigby Interviews, the former soldier also called for Ukraine to receive fighter jets as part of “continued support” to stop Vladimir Putin’s invasion.
Shaun Pinner
And he warned the Russian president: “One day, you’ll be found out.”
Mr Pinner, from Bedfordshire, says he was serving with regular military units in Mariupol before he was detained in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine.
Recalling how his captives gave him electric shocks, he told Rigby: “You feel like your muscles are popping out of you, your body.
“And the next day, my legs inflated very badly. The blood was kind of capillaries were leaking blood from my legs.
“When I took my thermal off I was just bleeding from my leg from the electric shock, and my legs had inflated so I couldn’t walk.”
The prisoner of war told how one man cut off his clothing to see if he had any right-wing tattoos, before stabbing him in the leg.
“He just went ‘Oh’ and I was just bleeding everywhere, all over my legs.
“I was screaming … and then I had 200 volts go through me on the chair, control my leg, and I was literally standing up and he electrocuted me in there.
“I didn’t really ask any questions.”
Mr Pinner appearing on Sky News Beth Rigby Interviews programme
‘I was petrified’
Speaking about what he witnessed while fighting in Ukraine, ahead of the first anniversary of the invasion on Friday, Mr Pinner told Rigby: “The bombing goes all the way back from the front lines to Mariupol.
“I saw a school, with the kids’ coats hanging up … where they’ve been evacuated and put in a cellar, and they just hit the school, didn’t care about it.
“They were hitting any government building they could target.”
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He and his team nicknamed the sound of the bombing “Phil Collins” – adding: “De dom de dom de dom. You know, it sounds just like that beat as it comes in – very slow, it builds up and then it was bop, bop, bop, bop, bop, very intense.”
Recalling the moment the Russians came over the border during the initial invasion of Ukraine, Mr Pinner said: “Your adrenaline is going. You’re nervous, you’re scared.
“You know people that say they aren’t scared. I was petrified. You know, it’s Russia.”
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Britons released in prisoner swap arrive in UK
He also called on Britain to give Ukraine the fighter jets requested by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“They need continued support,” Mr Pinner told Rigby.
“If you ask the foreign fighters over there, they just want to support.”
He conceded it is difficult to train people to use fighter jets but added: “That’s not my part, I just want fighter jets.”
And Mr Pinner vowed Ukraine should not yet engage in peace talks with Putin.
“One of the things I say to people is, how much of America or Norway or Britain would you be willing to lose to talk peace?
“I doubt America would give up an inch, especially Britain wouldn’t.
“So, you know, Ukraine is exactly the same.
“If we give an inch now, they will come back in three years, five years, push a bit more – like they’ve done with Crimea.”
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Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
Read more from Sky News:
Ten Reform councillors quit in protest
Liz Truss sends cease and desist letter to Starmer
As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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