LONDON –
A British aid worker held by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine has died in captivity, a separatist official and a British charity involved in his case say. on Friday.
The British government summoned the Russian ambassador in London to ask for an explanation.
Daria Morozova, the human rights inspector for the leader of the Moscow-backed separatists in the Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine, said a British “mercenary”, whom she named Paul Urey, had died in love. detention on Sunday. She said he died of chronic illness and stress.
Aid charity Presidium Network said Urey’s family had been informed of his death by British officials.
The British Foreign Office said it had summoned Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin “to express the UK’s deep concern.”
Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was “shocked to hear reports of the death of British aid worker Paul Urey in the custody of a Russian proxies in Ukraine.”
“Russia has to take full responsibility for this,” she said.
Urey, 45, was detained in April at a checkpoint near Zaporizhzhia, about 470 kilometers (290 miles) southeast of Kyiv, along with another British man, Dylan Healy. The two have operated separately in war zones, helping to evacuate civilians.
Presidium Network co-founder Dominik Byrne said Urey has diabetes and needs regular insulin supplies.
“It’s clear that his welfare isn’t taken care of,” Byrne said. “The Russian authorities and the Donetsk People’s Republic knew he needed insulin but all the way through, the Red Cross has denied him access to welfare and has never been able to verify his actual condition. he’s in prison.”
Byrne said “many agencies” including the UK government and the Red Cross tried in vain to secure Urey’s release.
“We are officially calling on his captors to release his body and help us repatriate his family to the UK,” he said. “We really feel that’s the most important thing and the least they can do at this stage.”
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