British aid workers ‘detained’ by Russians

TWO British men who are believed to have been detained in Ukraine by Russian forces were working as humanitarian aid volunteers, a non-profit group has said.

The Presidium Network said Paul Urey and Dylan Healey were captured early on Monday morning at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine.

Mr Urey, who was born in 1977 and is from Manchester, and Mr Healey, born in 2000 and from Cambridgeshire, travelled to Ukraine of their own accord, the organisation said.

They were not working for the Presidium Network, which helps to get aid into Kyiv.

The organisation said the pair were driving to help a woman and two children to evacuate when they went missing.

Presidium Network said it is concerned Russian forces may think the two men are British spies.

Dominik Byrne, one the founders of the Presidium Network, told the PA news agency: “Basically what needs to be done is two things – we need to put pressure on the Government to take this case seriously, and try, through their networks, to verify this, but also to help us find these people.

“But also because I know diplomatic channels are completely broken down, we use these tactics to find people by having it very public and putting pressure publicly on Russia to determine that they have got these two people and that they’re safe and well. And we want to tell the Russians basically that these aren’t spies. These aren’t military people. These are just humanitarian workers who got caught in a bad situation.”

He said the men were mostly helping with the distribution of medical aid and also helping with evacuations.

A statement from Mr Urey’s mother, Linda, released by the organisation, said he has Type 1 diabetes and needs insulin.

She said: “My family and I are extremely worried.

“We know my son Paul and his friend who was a humanitarian aid volunteer in Ukraine has been captured by the Russians.

“He was out there on his own accord. We want everyone’s support to bring my son home and pray he is safe.

“My son Paul is also Type 1 diabetic and needs his insulin.

“We have asked the Presidium Network to help us and also the FCDO to help as well. We pray for him and hope he is safe.”

The Foreign Office said earlier that it is urgently seeking more information following the reports of British nationals being detained in Ukraine.

Ms Urey told Sky News that her son going missing has been her “worst nightmare”. Her son went back out to Ukraine about a weekand-a-half ago after he had come home on leave.

“I begged him not to because... Russia’s bad,” she added. “I was on FaceTime with him up to 4am on Monday morning and that was it – gone... Something’s wrong – they’ve got him, definitely. He would contact me if he could and he can’t.”