Two British aid workers captured by Russians while trying to rescue Ukrainian family

29 April 2022, 08:38 | Updated: 29 April 2022, 14:40

A non-profit organisation has pleaded for confirmation from the Kremlin that two captured aid workers are safe and well, saying “we want to tell the Russians that these aren’t spies.”

UK non-profit organisation Presidium Network said the two men had been detained by Russian forces at a checkpoint south of Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine on Monday.

The two men have been named as Paul Urey, 45, and Dylan Healey, 22, by the non-profit, who added the pair were working alone in the war zone, not associating with any aid group.

Dominik Byrne, a co-founder of the charity, told the BBC the two workers were trying to evacuate a woman and two children.

He added: "They finally managed to get through the Ukraine checkpoint to go south into a Russian controlled area.

"What we do know is their contacts lost contact with them on Monday morning.

"On Monday afternoon, the lady being evacuated got some strange text messages and we've confirmed that they weren't consistent with how one of the individuals was texting beforehand.

He explained: "She was told they were five minutes away but then two hours later her home was stormed by Russian soldiers."

He said the family the pair had been helping were interrogated by Russian forces, who asked about 'British spies'.

The family later escaped to Poland, he claimed.

Read more: Volunteer former soldier named as first Brit killed 'fighting Russia in Ukraine'

Read more: Ukraine releases photos of ten Russian troops accused of being among ‘Butchers of Bucha’

Mr Urey's mother, Linda, appealed for support in bringing her son home, following the claims.

She said in a statement: "My family and I extremely worried.

"We know Paul and his friend who are humanitarian aid volunteers in Ukraine has been captured by the Russians.

"He was out there on his own accord. We want everyone's support to bring him home and pray he is safe."

Mr Urey is believed to be a Type 1 Diabetic and there are fears he may not have enough medication on him.

Meanwhile, Mr Healy was a previously a kitchen manager at a hotel chain in the UK.

The pair were said to be friends.

Mr Byrne said: "Basically what needs 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 kind of 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 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."

The Foreign Office is urgently seeking more information following the reports of the detained British nationals.

Trade minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News: "The Foreign Office is doing all it can to support and identify these two people."

Russia has not acknowledged taking the men.

It comes after a former soldier was named as the first British national killed in Ukraine, with a second British man reported missing.

It is thought that Scott Sibley and the missing Brit had been fighting against Russian forces as volunteers in support of Ukraine, although the Government did not confirm the reports.

A further two Brits were also previously paraded on Russian state TV after being captured by Putin's troops.

Shaun Pinner, from Bedfordshire, and Aiden Aslin, were both detained during the siege for Mariupol.

Despite the missing men, the latest intelligence update from the UK's Ministry of Defence (MoD) suggested Russia's gains had been "limited".

"The Battle of Donbas remains Russia's main strategic focus, in order to achieve its stated aim of securing control over the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts," the MoD said.

"In these oblasts fighting has been particularly heavy around Lysychansk and Severodonetsk, with an attempted advance south from Izium towards Slovyansk.

"Due to strong Ukrainian resistance, Russian territorial gains have been limited and achieved at significant cost to Russian forces."