The British Foreign Office said Phillips “is a vlogger who has created and published media content that supports and promotes actions and policies that destabilize Ukraine and undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty or independence of Ukraine.” Phillips has been placed under an asset freeze by the UK government and according to the UK government’s public sanctions list, he is the only British national sanctioned in connection with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In a video posted on YouTube on April 19, Phillips’ questions captured British national Aiden Aslin, who was fighting with Ukrainian forces in Mariupol. On camera, Aslin says he doesn’t speak under duress, but he is handcuffed during the video. YouTube removed the video. At the time of writing, parent company Google had not provided a statement to CNN regarding the removal of the video. On April 20 this year, British MP Robert Genrick, who represents Ashlin’s constituency in the UK, criticized Philip’s video of Ashlin in Parliament, describing it as a “flagrant violation of the Geneva Conventions”. “Treating any prisoner of war in this way is illegal and interviewer Graham Phillips risks prosecution for war crimes. And that any online platform, such as YouTube, that hosts propaganda videos of this nature should take them down immediately,” he said. In the video, Phillips refers to Aslin as a “mercenary” rather than a prisoner of war. In response, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said of Ashlyn: “I understand that he served in the Ukrainian forces for some time and his situation was very different to that of a mercenary.” Phillips previously worked as a contributor to state broadcaster RT in Ukraine, and his videos typically present a pro-Russian view of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More: Responding to the UK government’s sanctions, Phillips said on Telegram on July 26: “It is quite Kafkaesque in that I have had no opportunity to defend myself against the allegations against me that have led to the punishment.” “But there are no real charges against me that led to the punishment, so there’s nothing to defend myself,” he added, “It’s just that the British government doesn’t like my work.” On Wednesday, Phillips said the sanctions resulted in authorities “seizing all my bank accounts without any legal process,” he told the Telegram. Later on Wednesday, Phillips told Telegram that he had lodged an appeal against the UK government’s decision, adding: “So after a day with a lawyer I have now lodged a formal 4 page appeal against the absolutely absurd, dangerous, ridiculous decision of British government to sanction me. And tomorrow, go back to work here in Donbas, as usual, since 2014.” At press time, Phillips had not responded to CNN’s request for comment.
In a statement released by the UK Foreign Office on June 11 after Ashlin was captured by Russian forces in Ukraine, Ashlin’s family confirmed that he was serving as a contract marine in the 36th brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The statement added that he has been a resident of Ukraine for four years. In a statement to the OSCE on July 14, the UK’s deputy ambassador to the OSCE, Deirdre Brown, said of Aslin and the other Briton she was arrested with: “Mr Pinner and Mr Aslin are members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and must be treated as Prisoners of War. They are not mercenaries.” After his capture, the Russian-backed authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic sentenced Ashlin to death for fighting as a “mercenary”, along with another Briton and a Moroccan citizen. CNN has reached out to authorities in the Luhansk People’s Republic for an update on Ashlyn’s condition. As of this writing, CNN has had no response.