British POW who fought for Ukraine and was tortured in captivity wins lawsuit against Russia

A former British soldier who fought alongside Ukrainian troops before being captured and tortured by Russian soldiers has won a court case against the Kremlin.

According to The Daily Mail, London lawyers and Ukrainian lawyers filed a suit to a judge in Solomianskyi District Court in Kyiv in October, claiming that Russia owes him money for the way he was treated while a prisoner of war.

The Kyiv court today ruled in his favor, accepting he was inhumanely treated and ruling that the Russian Federation must compensate him accordingly.

In a comment to the newspaper, Pinner said that this is only the first step and that he intends to continue pursuing his case in British courts.

Pinner said that the lawsuit is about more than just money: "It's not just about financial compensation. […] I want to send a signal that the Russian state is culpable for its treatment of prisoners of war," he said.

"Moscow is expected to ignore the ruling, but the case could set a precedent for more POWs to lodge complaints against Russia," the news outlet said.

"When Russia comes back into the real world they are going to have to settle these legal cases... It's not about now, but the future, next year, 10 years, 20 years' time," The Daily Mail quoted Pinner as saying.

Aiden Aslin, one of the other Brits captured in Mariupol who once faced a death sentence, is expected to launch his case against Russia in a Ukrainian court next week.

Pinner and Aslin were released from captivity, where they spent five months, in September 2022. Both were tortured.

Main photo from The Sun website