Two Nottingham Lads: 4. Last Days in the Donbas

After a show trial in the Donetsk People’s Republic, Aiden Aslin has been sentenced to death. He endures months on death row, where his days are filled with further propaganda videos and psychological torment. But in September 2022, his life takes an abrupt and unexpected turn: he is hooded, and led onto a truck, awaiting what his captors term a ‘Russian Surprise’.

After making his video with Aiden, Graham Phillips faces his own reckoning. Their story becomes big news in the UK, and possible legal consequences of Graham’s actions become all too real. Will he be able to go back to a normal life outside war reporting, or is this the point of no return?

Our series concludes by exploring the lasting cost of war for both men.  How did the encounter between our two Nottingham lads fundamentally change their lives, and cement their status as symbols of a fracturing world?

Presenter: Paul Kenyon

A Message Heard production for BBC Radio 4