Brit recalls being 'fried' by cattle prod while held captive by cruel Russians

23 September 2023 , 11:53

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Shaun Pinner smiling after he was taken to Saudi Arabia in a prisoner swap (Image: AFP via Getty Images)

British squaddie Shaun Pinner was held captive by a band of cruel Russian guards as he faced the death penalty for heroically offering his life to fight for Ukraine.

On one of the harrowing days of his confinement, Shaun recalled how his Russian torturers attached electrodes to his shaking hands. As they released the power, he was forced bolt upright in a "hyperactive spasm". Once the jolt had dissipated, the strong and well-built soldier was left "twitching and drooling". He was also starved, pistol-whipped and stabbed in the leg after being caught on the Ukrainian frontline, reports The Sun.

Shaun (right) was held captive alongside fellow Brit Aiden Aslin (left) (STRINGER/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)

However, due to his nationality, Shaun had been marked as someone who could be used in a prisoner swap. Russia had planned to exchange him for pro-Kremlin Ukrainian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.

At the time, he told The Sun how he and fellow Brit POW Aiden Aslin were being charged with being "illegal combatants", and that they faced a maximum penalty of 20 years, or execution. “We want to come home. We’re scared to death,” he said from his jail cell.

Shaun (left) and Aiden (right) were captured while fighting on the front lines

Their cruel captors forced them to contact a number of organisations in the UK, including the British press, but due to the sensitivity of the case, details had to be forwarded on to the Foreign Office and couldn't be reported on.

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As well as contacting the press, the puppet state in Donetsk made them try to get hold of Boris Johnson by contacting the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).

During the call, he told the receptionist that he was being held hostage in the Donetsk People's Republic, but she couldn't help, telling him "that's a bit above my pay grade".

Shaun has released a new book about his ordeal (Cossackgundi/east2west news)

Details of Shaun's harrowing stint in captivity have been released in his new book, entitled "Live. Fight. Survive." In previous interviews, Shaun recalled how his muscles were left "popping out of his body" and bleeding from his legs after his captors attached clips and ran 200 volts of electricity through him.

He was tied up, cut, beaten and repeatedly called a Nazi during the horrific affair. The repeated shocks caused Mr Pinner's legs to inflate and he was left unable to walk He said: "I was screaming. And then I had 200 volts go through me on the chair. I couldn't feel my leg anymore."

He was charged with being a foreign mercenary and therefore was not considered eligible for the protections afforded captive Ukrainian soldiers. He was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of the Russian puppet state People's Republic of Donetsk.

Ryan Fahey