But when, after leaving the army, Pinner fell in love with and married a Ukrainian woman, the couple made their home in the coastal city of Mariupol. Missing the camaraderie and sense of purpose he'd relished in the Royal Anglian Regiment, he joined his adopted country's military as a sniper instructor.

Four years later, the section of Marines led by Pinner was on the front line when Vladimir Putin's forces launched their invasion.

Outnumbered and outgunned in the fiercest fighting seen in Europe since the end of the Second World War, Pinner's troops staged a fighting retreat back to Mariupol to join the remarkable, defiant last stand that captured the world's imagination. At the height of the battle, Pinner's wife urged him to 'Live. Fight. Survive.'

He fought on. Until, ordered by President Zelenskiy to save themselves, his platoon made a break for it. The enemy was waiting. Ambushed, the Marines were scattered, and Pinner was captured. For all that he had already endured, the worst was yet to come.

Over the months that followed, the former British soldier required every ounce of strength, resolve, ingenuity and dark humour to see him and his fellow prisoners of war through the savage mental and physical torture meted out by his captors, but he refused to be broken.

Live. Fight. Survive. is the breathtaking story of a soldier fighting for his home and family: an unforgettable account of superhuman courage, resistance and defiance in the face of overwhelming odds. And a stirring testament to the power of the human spirit.

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