Eden Ashlin, who goes by the name of Johnny, said the unit he was in “had no choice” but to lay down their arms after weeks of heavy fighting and relentless Russian attacks cut off supply lines in the area. Mr Aslin is likely to become a prisoner of war, but his friends have said they hope he could be included in a future prisoner exchange. Such agreements between Kiev and Moscow have been reached in recent weeks. Aiden Aslin, who goes by the name Johnny, and uses the name COSSACKGUNDI on social media, records his experience from the battle with the Russian forces (cossackgundi) The 28-year-old, from Newark to Nottinghamshire, had spent time fighting Islamic State in Syria with Kurdish forces before traveling to Ukraine. A statement on his Twitter account said: “We received news from Johnny. “48 days have passed, we did our best to defend Mariupol, but we have no choice but to surrender to the Russian forces. We have no food or ammunition. It was a joy for everyone, I hope this war will end soon. “ “We publish it after immediate consultation with his family. Until they tell us otherwise, we will continue to work to share the facts of the war. “Hope for prisoner exchange.” Mr Aslin’s Instagram page, which attracted thousands of followers and was used to document his experience of the war, was deleted last week. Jake Hanrahan, who describes himself as a journalist and director and a friend of Mr Aslin, wrote on Twitter: “Eden is not a ‘mercenary’ as some claim. He has been a full member of the Marines of Ukraine for 5+ years now. “He has done all the training, etc. He did not come recently. “He lives in Ukraine and plans to stay there with his fiancé.” A later statement on Mr Aslin’s Twitter account added: “Something very important to note: Aiden is a member of the Ukrainian army and a perfectly legal fighter. Mercenary, a word that idiots try to give him, has a definite legal meaning. “If you see them lying in the comments, we would be grateful if you could correct them.” The post is attached to a photo released in 2018 and shows him vowing to defend Ukraine. Mariupol, which has been largely destroyed by Russian air and artillery raids, has seen some of the fiercest fighting in the war. The mayor of the port city said on Monday that more than 10,000 civilians had been killed in the Russian siege and that the death toll could rise to more than 20,000. Weeks of attacks have left corpses “carpeted in the streets,” said Mayor Vadim Boichenko. Ukraine has said it expects Russia to launch an attack soon in the eastern Donbass region – which includes the valuable target of Mariupol – as Moscow turns its attention to occupying territory there after expelling its invasion through its gates. Kiev this month. The Ukrainian government said on Tuesday it was investigating unconfirmed reports that Russia may have used chemical weapons in the attack.
