British volunteers Christopher Parry and Andrew Bagshaw who were evacuating civilians from Ukraine frontline ‘were killed by Wagner or Russian troops in war crime’
The two Brit volunteers disappeared while helping evacuate civilians in the city in the eastern Bakhmut region where there was heavy fighting.
A statement released by the Foreign Office, on behalf of Parry’s family, said the pair were killed as they attempted a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar.
Who were Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw?
Christopher Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, were two British aid workers helping evacuate civilians from the frontline in the eastern Bakhmut region.
They were then reported missing on January 6.
Later, it was reported they were killed in Ukraine and could have been executed by Russian or Wagner fighters.
Bagshaw had been working as part of a team of Ukrainian and international volunteers delivering aid and evacuating citizens, reported Stuff.co.nz.
Bagshaw’s parents Philip and Dame Susan Bagshaw, who founded of the Canterbury Charity Hospital, previously described their son as “a very intelligent, independently minded person”, who went to Ukraine as a volunteer to help people.
Parry, a running coach from Cheltenham, previously told Sky News that his job was to drive about an hour to frontline villages to evacuate civilians.
He said: “I take each day as it comes. Sometimes when you see some pretty terrible things it does stay with you, for example the burnt out corpse of a mother who we had been evacuating.
“But you you’ve got a job. You’re in a position of care and as soon as you pick these people up you’ve got to get out and get away from the artillery, which is constantly going off around us.
“When you get back and think ‘that was kind of close that was only 100 metres away from us’ that’s when you think maybe my luck might run out but it’ s worth it to save these people.”
He had been raising money through to buy a new off-road vehicle to carry out his work.
What happened to Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw?
Chris Parry from Truro, died alongside fellow volunteer Andrew Bagshaw in Soledar in January 2023.
Russian forces then brandished passports belonging to the pair and claimed at least one was dead.
Pictures appearing to show their documents were posted online by the pro-Putin Wagner private army.
Later that month, Parry’s family confirmed via the Foreign Office that they were killed as they attempted a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar. It was claimed they died in an artillery strike.
“It is with great sadness we have to announce that our beloved Chrissy has been killed along with his colleague Andrew Bagshaw whilst attempting a humanitarian evacuation from Soledar, eastern Ukraine,” the family said.
“His selfless determination in helping the old, young and disadvantaged there has made us and his larger family extremely proud.
“We never imagined we would be saying goodbye to Chris when he had such a full life ahead of him. He was a caring son, fantastic brother, a best friend to so many and a loving partner to Olga.
“Chris was a confident, outward-looking and adventurous young man who was loyal to everyone he knew.
“He lived and worked away as a software engineer but Cornwall was always his home. He loved rock climbing, cycling, running and skydiving and wanted to travel the world.
“He found himself drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour at the start of the Russian invasion and helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.
“It is impossible to put into words how much he will be missed but he will forever be in our hearts.
“We feel so privileged that he chose our family to be part of.”
Chris’s parents, Rob and Christine Parry, said the chance to visit the country was “healing”. Mr Parry, from Truro in Cornwall, began driving to Ukraine on Sunday on an aid convoy organised by Gloucester artist Russell Haines.
Mr Bagshaw’s family said the pair were attempting to rescue a woman in an area of intense military action when their car was hit by an artillery shell.
But Bagshaw’s devastated parents Professor Philip and Dame Susan Bagshaw have since been investigating their son’s death and believe he and Parry were killed by Russian or Wagner troops.
Professor Bagshaw told Stuff: “There’s a whole story here that’s not been told.
“He must have been subject to a war crime; how badly he was abused we’ll probably never know.”
They say a British post-mortem for Parry reveals he was shot in the head and torso, while a Ukraine post-mortem of Bagshaw showed the same.
The couple, who live in New Zealand, also claim Bagshaw’s mobile phone was unlocked two days after he went missing.
Professor Bagshaw added: “He was definitely shot. He may well have been abused.
“We don’t like to think how badly, but the report of his post-mortem is horrific.”
The pair also say they have spoken to a source in Ukraine who claimed Bagshaw and Parry were pulled from a car and shot over suspicions they were troop instructors from the Nato military alliance.
Professor Bagshaw believes the aid workers were killed by Wagner troops and is working with a lawyer.
He and his wife previously described their son as “a very intelligent, independently minded person”, who went to Ukraine as a volunteer to help people.
Were Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw’s bodies recovered in prisoner swap Ukraine?
The bodies of two British volunteers killed in eastern Ukraine in January were recovered as part of a prisoner swap with Russia. President Volodymyr Zelensky’s chief of staff said the bodies of Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, had now been returned to Ukraine.
