Shaun Pinner, a British citizen who fought with the Ukrainian forces and was sentenced to death on Thursday by a court in Donetsk, has issued a stark warning for all foreigners who might be considering joining the fight against Russian troops: “Don’t get into a war you don’t really understand.”
Shaun Pinner, his compatriot Aiden Aslin and Moroccan Saadun Ibrahim were found guilty of acting as mercenaries and attempting to seize power by force in the Donetsk People’s Republic. They were also accused of undergoing training in order to carry out terrorist activities on the territory of the state, which was formally recognized by Russia in February.
In an exclusive interview with RT, conducted shortly before the sentence was announced, Pinner called on aspiring mercenaries to accept the fact that they can be put on trial and – in the worst-case scenario – may get a death sentence, and warned them against complaining when it happens.
Pinner revealed that his time in captivity was in many ways an eye-opening experience for him.