Aiden was beaten and tortured by his Russian captors. Then they made him a propaganda prop

As a prisoner of war held by Russian forces, Aiden Aslin experienced the full range of horrors. "It's the mental toll of doing the propaganda, but it's also the mental toll of being taken out as well," Mr Aslin said. Mr Aslin wrote Putin's Prisoner with John Sweeney, the legendary British war reporter who for over 20 years has documented how the Kremlin's troops have tortured both civilians and POWs. He agrees with Mr Aslin's assessment that torture is "systemic" in the Russian army. "I think he's a bit of a hero because of that, and I know writing the book was difficult for him," Mr Sweeney said.