"I have discussed the issue of foreign volunteer fighters with the Ukrainian government. They are clear, we are clear that those fighting under the Ukrainian flag, for the Ukrainian armed forces and the defense of Ukraine should be treated as Ukrainian military and treated as prisoners of war with all the protection from the humanitarian law," Cleverly told the Parliament when asked about the fate of UK citizens who have surrendered in Mariupol.
Last week, two UK citizens, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, turned to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson with a request to facilitate their exchange for detained Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk after surrendering to the Russian forces in Ukraine. On April 16, Medvedchuk’s wife Oksana Marchenko appealed to the relatives of the captive Brits, suggesting they ask London to exchange them for her husband.
On April 20, Johnson called on Russia to treat British fighters in Ukraine "humanely and with compassion."