Russia reportedly kidnap two British aid workers - one from Warrington - and accuse them of being spies
29.04.2022 - 14:39
/ manchestereveningnews.co.uk
Two British aid workers - one from Warrington - have been captured by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, it was reported today. The two men, both volunteer humanitarian workers, were said to have been taken by Vladimir Putin's forces while heading towards Dniprorudne in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast region of south-eastern Ukraine on Monday.
Paul Urey, from Warrington, and Dylan Healy, 22, have not been heard from since 4am on Monday. Presidium Network, a group doing relief work in Ukraine and said to have been monitoring their efforts, raised the alarm, reports The Mirror.
Paul, 45, and Dylan were driving to help evacuate a woman and two children when communications between them ceased, according to the reports. However, suspicion was raised when communication resumed sometime later but containing uncharacteristic errors.
It comes after the Foreign Office confirmed that a British man has been killed in Ukraine and another missing. And this morning, International Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News that the Foreign Office is trying to identify two Brits who have been kidnapped in Ukraine.
She said: "The Foreign Office obviously has been working very closely with those in Ukraine both to make sure the identification is correct and indeed to work with local authorities and to support families here. As we've set out right from the beginning we don't want British nationals to go and fight but there are many many ways in which so many people… can all support."
Trevelyan added: "We don't want people to go and fight but obviously the Foreign Office is doing all it can to support and identify these two people."
The Mirror says it has seen WhatsApp and Viber messages that show a long gap between interactions before later,