Missing British man in Ukraine 'had only just celebrated his birthday'

9 January 2023, 19:03 | Updated: 9 January 2023, 19:10

The translator of a missing British man in Ukraine says he celebrated his birthday just four days before he went on a mission to evacuate civilians in the east of the country.

Chris Parry, 28, is one of two British foreign aid workers who have been reported missing in the country, alongside 48 year-old Andrew Bagshaw. Both men were doing voluntary work when contact with them was lost on Friday.

Yasya Golovko, the flatmate of Chris, told LBC: “His birthday was on the 2nd of January and I sent him a letter from Kyiv and on Thursday he sent me a photo of the note on his fridge saying ‘proud place for your letter for me, thank you’.

“It was then that he said he was going to Soledar tomorrow, but I didn’t reply until the next day. I said give me a call or text when you get back.

“He was last online at 8am on the 6th of January and then I got a call from his girlfriend saying she hadn’t heard from him either and that’s when we found out both Chris and Andrew were missing”.

They are understood to have been moving between the cities of Kramatorsk and Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region, as they attempted to evacuate residents from the area, where fighting has become increasingly intense.

Chris, a former running coach in Cheltenham, is thought to have originally flown to Poland at the start of March, with the intention of joining Ukraine’s military.

He then joined a group of volunteers helping to bring aid to civilians as they escape heavy fighting.

Yaysa, who lives in Kyiv, told LBC Chris had texted her on Thursday 5th January to say he was going to Soledar the next morning but she hasn’t heard from him since.

Yasya added: “Every city and village is dangerous but some are more dangerous than others and I tried to say to him I was concerned.

“I said ‘are you sure you want to go there – it’s pretty bad’, but I can’t say don’t go because he’s a grown-up man and he insisted.”

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Mr Golovko is also in touch with Mr Parry’s Ukrainian girlfriend and said they had shared concerns with each other about him not responding to messages – but they were patient, after knowing he’d gone missing previously.

“It’s happened before, but it was only for one day and he texted us as soon as he got internet.

“I told his girlfriend we need to have positive thinking – but positive thinking is hard to have on the fifth day.”

Andrew Bagshaw, the other British national reported missing, was taking part in the evacuation efforts in Soledar.

His parents, Philip and Sue Bagshaw, released a statement on Sunday through the Kiwi K.A.R.E charity, describing the 48 year-old as an “intelligent, independently minded person” who they loved dearly.

They said Mr Bagshaw had been delivering food and medicines and helping elderly people move from near the front line of the conflict.

Kiwi K.A.R.E’s director Tenby Powell also said he was in close contact with Andrew’s parents."Clearly the family are very concerned, very upset, at Andrew's disappearance," he said.

"We haven't given up hope, you know there's a number of people in Ukraine who are actively searching for him, including members of the Ukraine armed forces who have been very helpful at trying to identify and locate Andrew."

LBC understands Mr Bagshaw was also a member of the British group, The Spearhead Foundation – which supports military personnel who’d served in Iraq or Afghanistan.

One of the group’s members, Craig Monaghan, tweeted: “Horrendous news to wake up too (sic). My thoughts are with Andrew Bagshaw this morning who has been confirmed as missing in the Donbas.

“Andrew seen here pictured in the back of @team_spearhead van in Soledar a few months ago assisted us evacuating civilians.”

A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: “We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine.”