Two British fighters captured by Moscow’s forces in Ukraine have appeared on Russian state TV and asked to be exchanged for a pro-Russian politician Viktor Medvedchuk.

It was unclear how freely the two men – Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin – were able to talk. Both spoke separately after
being prompted by an unidentified man in footage broadcast on the Rossiya 24 state TV channel.

The two men asked British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to help bring them home in exchange for Ukraine releasing captured oligarch Mr Medvedchuk, who was shown in a video released around the same time on Monday by Ukraine’s SBU intelligence service asking to be swapped too.

Mr Medvedchuk, in his appeal to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy, asked to be exchanged for the defenders of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol and any civilians allowed to leave.

Mr Medvedchuk, the leader of the Opposition Platform – For Life party, is an ally of Putin.

It was unclear how freely the captured politician was speaking in the video.

Mr Medvedchuk said was a making a “plea for the Ukrainian side to exchange me for the defenders of Mariupol and its citizens who are there today have no opportunity for a safe exit through a humanitarian corridor”.

He had been placed under house arrest last year to face treason and terrorism financing charges, which he denies.

Mr Medvedchuk escaped a few days after the Russian invasion began in February, but was later captured by Ukraine.