PM Truss says release of UK prisoners from Ukraine 'hugely welcome'

British Prime Minister Liz Truss on Wednesday welcomed the release and transfer to Riyadh of five UK prisoners of war who had been held in east Ukraine.

The prime minister, who is in New York, tweeted: "Hugely welcome news that five British nationals held by Russian-backed proxies in eastern Ukraine are being safely returned, ending months of uncertainty and suffering for them and their families."

She thanked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Saudi Arabia for helping free the detainees.

British lawmaker Robert Jenrick on Wednesday seperately said Aiden Aslin was among the prisoners released by Russia on Wednesday following the mediation by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

"I am delighted that my constituent, Aiden Aslin, and the other British prisoners of war held captive by the Russian authorities have finally been released and are on their way back to the UK," Jenrick said in an emailed statement.

Aslin was captured earlier this year then sentenced to death by a court in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), one of Russia's proxies in eastern Ukraine.