The family said they were working with the Ukrainian government and UK Foreign Office to try to free Aslin, 28.
"Aiden is a much-loved man and very much missed, and we hope that he will be released very soon," according to the statement cited by the UK TV channel.
UK nationals Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin surrendered at Mariupol in mid-April. Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said "the mercenaries who arrived in Ukraine are not combatants, the best thing that awaits them is a long prison term." He said foreign mercenaries do not have the status of combatants under international humanitarian law.
At the end of last week, the Prosecutor General's Office of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) announced the end of the investigation and the transfer of the criminal case against Aslin to the court. He may face the death penalty. On Tuesday, UK Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said the UK government intends to protest in connection with the criminal case against Aslin.
Elena Shishkina, who chairs the committee on criminal and administrative legislation of the DPR People's Council, earlier said foreign mercenaries who took part in hostilities in Donbass on the side of the Ukrainian troops were not subject to exchange.
Captured British mercenaries Shawn Pinner and Aiden Aslin appeal to Prime Minister Boris Johnson to pressure Kiev to exchange them for detained Ukrainian opposition politician Viktor Medvedchuk. Screengrab from Russian television.
© Photo : Screenshot / Rossiya 1
Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February in response to calls by the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics for protection from Ukrainian troops. The Russian Defence Ministry said the goal of the operation, which targets Ukrainian military infrastructure, is to "demilitarise and denazify" Ukraine, and to completely liberate Donbas.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said the operation aims to "protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years." As of 25 March, the Russian Armed Forces completed the main tasks of the first stage, significantly reducing the combat potential of Ukraine. Western nations have imposed numerous sanctions on Russia and have been supplying weapons to Ukraine.