Two Britons who nearly died fighting in Ukraine reveal why they have returned to war zone – and issue warning about Russia
Two Britons who nearly died fighting in Ukraine have told why they have returned to the war-torn country – and warn urgent help is needed on the frontline in the battle against Russia.
Shareef Amin was seriously wounded by Russian fire after answering President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s call for foreigners to join the Ukrainian military in 2022.
The 41-year-old from Bristol lost part of his hand and his right leg was paralysed from the knee down. He also suffered punctured lungs and severe injuries to his shoulder and forearm.
Recovering in hospital after he was ambushed. Pic: Shareef Amin
Fellow Briton Shaun Pinner was captured and tortured by Russian forces after fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in 2022.
The 50-year-old from Hertfordshire was imprisoned for five months – during which time he said he was “electrocuted, starved, beaten… and stabbed” – before he was released in a prisoner swap.
Speaking just before the second anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Mr Amin and Mr Pinner told Sky News there is no prospect of an end to the war anytime soon – and fear Vladimir Putin will be free to invade more of Europe if urgent help isn’t sent.
“We need support – from Britain, America, Europe – whether it’s bombs, helmets, body armour, or medical equipment, there isn’t enough,” Mr Amin says.
“This is a really dangerous situation. If Russia gets the upper hand and they take Ukraine, they’re not going to stop at that.
“The British and the Europeans need to know this is all of our wars.”
Ukraine war:
Follow the latest updates
Pic: Shareef Amin (left)
Mr Pinner says Ukraine is “probably a year off being able to produce enough shells to be able to support” itself.
“We’re going to go through a really tough time before then,” he adds.
“I’ve never lost faith that Ukraine can win. But we’ve got ammo shortages on the frontline that are a real worry. How can you fight with one hand tied behind your back?”
Pic: Shaun Pinner
‘Chaotic’ first months in Ukraine
Mr Amin – who spent 13 years in the British military – says he travelled to Ukraine to join the fight against Russia in March 2022 after watching a speech by President Zelenskyy on Instagram.
“I managed to get hold of a group of British guys through WhatsApp and TikTok, and by 11 March we were in Lviv,” he says.
He described his first two months in the country as “chaotic” as he and others felt there wasn’t enough time to go to the British embassy and join the foreign legion through official channels.
“We almost got arrested three times at gunpoint, because we weren’t there under official paperwork – we just had passports, uniforms, and military kit,” he says.
Mr Amin says he initially decided to do some humanitarian work instead, delivering medical supplies around the country, until he was asked to teach one of the territorial units in Western tactics.
By mid-2022, Mr Amin was on the frontline but left after a few months to sign up officially to the Ukrainian military.
He went in search of more specialised work and joined the Main Directorate of Intelligence Unit (GUR) with some fellow Britons.
Pic: Shareef Amin (left)
‘All of a sudden, there was this explosion’
On the frontline in November 2022, Mr Amin’s team was ambushed.
After his team found itself in a line of trees, beyond which there was nothing but flat land, “three or four tanks” emerged and began shooting – followed by artillery, drones and laser-guided missiles, he says.
He and other members of his team were hit. Some of them were killed.
“All of a sudden, there was this explosion,” he recalls.
“The air got sucked out of my lungs and all I could see was a flash of light and it felt like I was pulled underground like an empty can.”
Pic: Shareef Amin
‘He’s not going to make it’
Mr Amin says he was hit by a round of fire that had gone underground before exploding and ricocheting back up through his body armour.
When he eventually got to an ambulance and was taken to hospital, he heard a doctor say “he’s not going to make it” – but he survived despite more than 20 pieces of metal being pulled out of his back.
He spent six weeks in a hospital in Odesa, hoping to recover and quickly return to the frontline.
But he says: “You don’t really come to the realisation your body is destroyed.”
In December 2022, he was flown to the UK for further treatment – but went back to Ukraine in the summer of 2023.
He says he is working with intelligence units there and helping with medical evacuations on the frontline.
“Psychologically, I had to have that purpose again,” Mr Amin says.
“The idea of actually going home and giving up was a no-go.
“I’ve had my ups and downs, but the idea of coming back and still being able to wear the uniform has kept me sane.”
‘You can’t train for pain of torture and starvation’
Mr Pinner was already in Ukraine when Russia invaded on 24 February 2022.
Having spent nine years in the British Army, he had been living with his fiancée in Mariupol since 2018 and was serving in the Ukrainian military.
“I was on a routine deployment when the full-scale invasion happened,” he recalls.
Shaun Pinner (right) and fellow Briton Aiden Aslin (left). Pic: Shaun Pinner
Mr Pinner says he was the first foreigner to become a commander on the frontline as he spoke Russian and had previous military experience.
But in April 2022, he and four other British soldiers were captured and taken prisoner.
He was “electrocuted, starved, beaten, tortured, stabbed in the leg,” he tells Sky News, before being put on a show trial and sentenced to death in Russia’s self-proclaimed People’s Republic of Donetsk.
“I wasn’t expecting the brutality of it,” he says.
“You can’t train for pain. The worst torture was starvation… thinking about food – it’s with you every day, it’s still with me now.”
Shaun Pinner in captivity in Donetsk. Pic: Reuters
‘If I got executed, I was dying for a cause’
Mr Pinner says that the Russian he learned as a resident of Mariupol helped him to decipher what was going on during his captivity.
Reflecting on challenges he’d faced outside the military – such as relatives dying, and previous relationship breakdowns – helped keep things in perspective, he adds.
“I was never as low as that when I was in captivity, because I knew if I did get executed, I was dying for a cause,” Mr Pinner says.
He and the other four Britons were unexpectedly freed as part of a prisoner exchange in September 2022.
He was reunited with his family in the UK before returning to Ukraine to live with his wife the following month.
Pictured with his family in the UK in 2022. Pic: Shaun Pinner
‘I don’t talk to Westerners who’ve just turned up’
Mr Pinner admits being “nervous coming across the border” for the first time after he was freed.
But he says: “My life has changed now. I’m not fighting but I’m helping in another capacity.
“I try to talk about what it’s actually like to live here – and what it was like before the invasion.
“I try to dispel Putin’s narratives on social media because I’m now in a position where I can say, ‘actually that’s not correct, because I’m here and I know’.”
Speaking from Dnipro, where he warns an air raid siren might interrupt the call, he says he discourages any foreigners he speaks to who say they want to come and fight.
“There are some good guys here,” he says. “But they’ve either been here a long time or they’re married to Ukrainians.”
He adds: “I don’t talk to Westerners who have just turned up. You don’t want people coming over who just want to update their YouTube.”
Read more:
Estonia’s volunteer army warns about Russia
Russia takes complete control of Ukrainian city
Was lack of ammo to blame for Russia taking Avdiivka?
Should the West provide more weapons to Ukraine?
Military analyst Sean Bell agrees with Mr Pinner’s view about Westerners joining the fight.
He stresses the Ukrainians have enough personnel already, and ex-soldiers from NATO countries fighting in a war NATO has refused to enter can cause problems.
Bell says there is even a problem with donating shells, as they encourage attritional warfare, “which generally favours the bigger side” – Russia.
He adds that while the West readily donated precision weapons, as well as long-range missiles and tanks at the start of the conflict, now the UK has “emptied its war chest” of the older, stockpiled equipment, and “it’s got to a stage where we’re not comfortable with giving any more”.
New weapons systems risk falling into the wrong hands and compromising security, he adds, so most focus has now fallen on the US, which is trying to get a $60bn (£47bn) military aid package through Congress.
But Bell warns: “If funding was the only issue, the EU has already promised that much. It’s about converting dollars into weapons. They’re built to order and that all takes years not weeks.”
Mr Amin has written a book about his experience in Ukraine, Freedom At All Costs: A British Veteran’s Experiences Of The War In Ukraine.
Mr Pinner has also written a book, Live. Fight. Survive. He also teaches English and gives talks to Ukrainian soldiers.
The UK will formally recognise Palestine as a state, it is understood.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to make the announcement on Sunday after he said in July that the government would make the move unless Israel met certain conditions.
The prime minister had called on Benjamin Netanyahu’s government to take substantive steps to end the “appalling situation in Gaza“, agree to a ceasefire, commit to a long-term sustainable peace, allow the UN to restart the supply of aid, and not annex the West Bank.
The Israeli foreign ministry furiously rejected his statement, with Mr Netanyahu claiming that “Starmer rewards Hamas‘s monstrous terrorism and punishes its victims”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Could recognition of Palestine change the West Bank?
Ilay David, brother of Hamas hostage Evyatar David, who was seen emaciated in a video last month, said giving recognition was “like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK, you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields.’
“This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”
There has been no ceasefire, and the situation in Gaza has deteriorated, with a declaration of a famine in Gaza City and the expansion of Israeli military operations.
Israel has launched a major ground offensive to seize all of Gaza City and destroy Hamas in an operation which has prompted widespread condemnation, with UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper calling it “utterly reckless and appalling”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
What changed in UK’s Gaza policy?
Earlier this month, a UN commission of inquiry concluded that Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Israel said the claim was “distorted and false”.
The UK will join 147 of the 193 members of the UN who recognise Palestine ahead of the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday.
Other nations, including France, Australia and Canada, have said they plan to take the same step at the UN gathering as part of a broad international effort to put pressure on Israel.
During a joint news conference with the prime minister at Chequers on Thursday, Donald Trump said he disagreed with recognition, and US politicians have urged the UK and other allies to reverse their stance.
Sir Keir Starmer is expected to deliver the announcement on Sunday. Pic: PA
Sky News understands that Israel is considering options in response to the UK’s decision, but the strength of that reaction is still under consideration.
Read more:
Palestinian minister says UK recognition of state would be ‘courageous step’
What does recognising a Palestinian state mean?
Gaza could be ‘real estate bonanza’, Israeli minister says
Family members of some of the 48 hostages still in captivity, after Hamas and other militant groups stormed into Israel on 7 October 2023, have written an open letter to Sir Keir, condemning the move.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Israel ramps up attacks on Gaza City
“Hamas has already celebrated the UK’s decision as a victory and reneged on a ceasefire deal,” they said.
“We write to you with a simple plea – do not take this step until our loved ones are home and in our arms.”
The UK government is understood to be looking at further sanctions on Hamas, and has demanded the group release all hostages, agree to an immediate ceasefire, accept it will have no role in governing Gaza, and commit to disarmament.
Heathrow was among a number of major airports across Europe hit by delays after a suspected cyber attack that targeted a service provider for check-in and boarding systems.
The “technical issue” affecting Collins Aerospace, which provides check-in and boarding services for various airlines, resulted in 14 flights being cancelled at Brussels Airport on Saturday, and several more being delayed at London Heathrow, Berlin, and Dublin, among others.
‘Very clever cyber attack’ cancels flights in Europe – latest
Passengers have reported being unable to check in online, instead queuing for hours for staff to deal with them manually at desks and departure gates, only to be told their flights are not taking off.
Read more from Sky News
Dublin Airport reopens after emergency evacuation
Moment British couple freed by Taliban
Trump to add $100,000 fee for foreign worker visas
Helen Steel, 49, left Dorset for Heathrow at 3am to travel home to Oslo, with her cat Thomas – but was “shouted at by staff” who told her she would not be able to fly until Sunday.
Describing the situation as an “absolute nightmare”, she said: “I’ve got an animal here, so I’m very concerned about his welfare.
“I’ve been shouted at twice and I broke down in tears because I was worried about him. None of us have had any information whatsoever. Whenever we ask ground staff, they shout at us.”
Ms Steel says she spent two hours in the queue on the phone to customer service and is now having to find a hotel to stay in overnight.
Sam arrived at Heathrow expecting to drop his girlfriend off for her flight to Rio de Janeiro – but was still at the airport seven hours later.
Sam has been at Heathrow for seven hours after his girlfriend’s flight to Rio was cancelled
When they arrived, it was “chaos everywhere”, he told Sky News, with “nobody seeming to know what was going on”.
The couple say they were not told about the cyber attack by airport staff, finding out about it online instead.
After queuing for three hours, they made it to the front, only to be told the plane was not taking off, he adds.
“Her flight was at 8.40am and it was held back until 10.15am. At 10.10am they sent everyone away and told them to contact the airline. But there are no representatives for any airlines whatsoever. It’s been a bit of a farce.
“Nobody knew where they were going – and they were sending people left, right, and centre.
“She’s going tomorrow now, but we’ve got to find a hotel, and no one is here to give us any hotel vouchers. They just give you a piece of paper and say ‘you’ve got to pay for it yourself’.”
Passengers wait for news at Heathrow Terminal 4. Pic: PA
‘Insane queues’ and ‘skeleton staff’
Passenger Tereza Pultarova waited around 10 hours at Heathrow after she arrived at 4.30am for her flight to Cape Town via Amsterdam.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Tereza Pultarova had to wait 10 hours at Heathrow
“We were kind of stranded here because KLM wasn’t able to issue us boarding passes digitally, and requested us to collect them at the check-in desk,” she said.
“And then they told us that there is some sort of global issue with the system they’re using for check-in and boarding, and they have to do everything manually. So then they were checking in people at the rate of, like, one person per 10 minutes.
“I’m not exaggerating. It was just insane, the queue wasn’t moving. And then suddenly they said, ‘Oh, the flight will be departing, we’re closing the gate’.
Maria Casey was due to fly to Thailand with Etihad Airways – but had to wait three hours to drop off her luggage at Heathrow, with staff taking between five and 10 minutes to deal with each passenger.
Queues at Heathrow. Pic: PA
“The queues are terrible,” she told Sky News. “It was an absolute skeleton staff. Out of six of the desks there were probably two people”.
A Heathrow spokesperson advised people to arrive no more than three hours early for a flight and apologised for any inconvenience.
It is understood British Airways at Terminal 5 remains unaffected and is operating as normal.
Collins Aerospace said it is working to resolve the issue as soon as possible.
“We have become aware of a cyber-related disruption to our Muse (Multi-User System Environment) software in select airports, the firm said in a statement.
“The impact is limited to electronic customer check-in and baggage drop and can be mitigated with manual check-in operations. We are actively working to resolve the issue and restore full functionality to our customers as quickly as possible.”
An elderly British couple who have arrived back in the UK after being detained in a maximum security Taliban prison are “delighted to be free”, their son has told Sky News.
Barbie Reynolds, 76, and her husband Peter, 80, were arrested in February after spending decades in Afghanistan, where they have dual citizenship.
They had been held without charge before being released from detention on Friday and flown to Qatar, where they were reunited with their daughter, before flying back to Heathrow Airport on Saturday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Freed couple reunites with daughter
The couple’s son, Jonathan Reynolds, told Sky News: “They’re just delighted to be free… they’re very excited to see their kids and grandkids and great grandkids, people they’ve just been wanting to catch up with and wondered if they’d ever see them again.”
Jonathan, who spoke to his parents from Wyoming in the US in a FaceTime call with some of his siblings, said: “I’ve seen photographs of them in hospital beds getting checked. I’ve seen them having full English breakfasts. So they’re jumping on that.”
Peter Reynolds enjoys breakfast after his release
He described some of the conditions his parents had been kept under in a “big maximum security prison with thousands of inmates”.
“My dad described being handcuffed or chained to other criminals. And, one point he had his chest hairs ripped out,” he said.
“He was hit in the head. And, then they were moved, to more of a safe house.”
Peter Reynolds gets hospital check-up
But Jonathan said his parents retained their British politeness even when calling him from a payphone in the prison yard, with his dad asking: “Is now a good time?”.
“It was totally, ‘Yeah, not too bad. Where’s the queue to get out of here?'”
The UK government advises British nationals not to travel to Afghanistan.
Abdul Qahar Balkhi, a spokesperson at the Taliban government’s foreign ministry, said in a statement posted on X that the couple “violated Afghan law” and were released from prison after a court hearing.
He did not say what law the couple were alleged to have broken.
Sky correspondent Cordelia Lynch was at Kabul Airport as the freed couple arrived and departed.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Sky’s Cordy Lynch speaks to released couple
Mr Reynolds told her: “We are just very thankful.”
His wife added: “We’ve been treated very well. We’re looking forward to seeing our children.
“We are looking forward to returning to Afghanistan if we can. We are Afghan citizens.”
The couple have lived in Afghanistan for 18 years and run an organisation called Rebuild, which provides education and training programmes.
They have been together since the 1960s and married in the Afghan capital in 1970.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoButton battles heat exhaustion in NASCAR debut
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment12 months agoHere are the best electric bikes you can buy at every price level in October 2024