How Western Allies Helped Free Britons Held In Ukraine

Saudi Arabia's crown prince played a key role in the prisoner exchange, which included Putin's ally, writes Kim Sengupta

- Kim Sengupta

Months of secret international negotiations lay behind the release of captured British and Ukrainian fighters, during which a key demand by Moscow was the release by Kyiv of Vladimir Putin’s friend Viktor Medvedchuk.

Saudi officials claimed that the kingdom’s crown prince personally played a part in brokering the prisoner exchange. “It was in continuation of [his] commitment to the humanitarian initiatives towards the Russian-Ukrainian crisis,” said the foreign ministry in Jeddah. Ukrainian and Western diplomatic officials confirm Mohammed bin Salman did indeed intercede with President Putin on the issue in a number of telephone calls.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was also involved in facilitating the deal, it is believed. Turkey’s president spoke of a possible exchange on Tuesday after meeting Mr Putin at a summit in Uzbekistan.

Five Britons Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, John Harding, Dylan Healy, and Andrew Hill some of whom had faced execution, are now back in the UK. They were freed along with Brahim Saadoun, a Moroccan, two Americans, Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh, a Swede, Mathias Gustafsson and Croatian, Vjekoslav Prebeg.

Also released were more than 200 fighters from the Azov Battalion captured following the siege of Mariupol after making their last stand at the Azovstal steelworks in the shattered city.