In this new episode, I take you to Dnipro, Ukraine, a city that isn’t officially on the frontline, yet lives with the war inching closer every month.
Despite ballistic attacks, drone swarms, rolling blackouts, and the constant hum of generators, life continues. People adapt. Communities rebuild. The resilience is real, and it’s earned.
Shaun Pinner BIO: Author, Public Speaker, and Recipient of Ukraine’s “Order of Courage” for selfless acts in the defence of Ukrainian sovereignty.
A proud husband and father born near Watford, England, I served for nine years in the British Army’s Royal Anglian Regiment, including deployment with the UN in Bosnia during the early ’90s.
Trained in Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape (S.E.R.E.) as part of the 24 Airmobile Brigade, I continued my military journey by joining the Ukrainian Armed Forces in 2018 as the country rebuilt its military following the annexation of Crimea.
I led a fighting withdrawal back to Mariupol over several days—a story recounted in my book Live. Fight. Survive.
The book details my life before Ukraine, my service on the frontlines, and the intense battle for Mariupol. Most powerfully, it recounts my capture, torture, and death sentence at the hands of Russian proxy forces (the so-called DPR), and my eventual release in a dramatic prisoner exchange brokered by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Roman Abramovich, and the Ukrainian government.
Since my release, I’ve been awarded one of Ukraine’s highest honours by President Volodymyr Zelensky. I now brief NATO forces and S.E.R.E. schools globally, speak regularly in the media on geopolitical developments involving Ukraine, and recently won a landmark legal case holding Russia accountable for my treatment in captivity. I continue to reside in Ukraine, supporting my Ukrainian wife in humanitarian efforts and standing firmly in support of the country’s future.
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