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Brit Christopher Parry (left) and New Zealander Andrew Bagshaw are missing in Ukraine.
Marian NadlerEditor News
In Soledar, Russians and Ukrainians have been fighting bitterly in recent days. That doesn’t seem to have deterred New Zealander Andrew Bagshaw (48) and Brit Christopher Parry (28).
On Friday, the two volunteers are said to have made their way into the city. Since then there has been no trace of them. They were reported missing in nearby Bachmut on Saturday. Bagshaw and Parry helped evacuate people from the front lines of the war, reports the BBC.
Now the families of the two young men tremble for them. Because: On Tuesday evening, the Wagner mercenaries announced the conquest of Soledar.
Bagshaw and Parry helped the elderly and disabled to escape
Christopher Parry’s family describes him as an extraordinary person who is “compassionate and caring”. He did not allow himself to be dissuaded from his work in Ukraine and rescuing the elderly and disabled. They emphasized that they “all love Parry very much” and are “very proud” of him.
In an interview with the BBC at Christmas, Parry emphasized his “urge to help”. He told of constant bombing and a drone that came within ten meters of him.
Delivery of groceries and medicines
Andrew Bagshaw’s family also spoke out. She lives in New Zealand. The 48-year-old is a “very intelligent, independently thinking person”. In a statement issued to New Zealand media, Philip and Sue Bagshaw, both 73, describe their son’s work. He delivered groceries and medicines.
They also confirmed that he helped elderly people flee the front lines. They told Radio New Zealand that he volunteered in Ukraine because it was the moral right thing for him to do.
Were the two men captured by the Russians?
The search for the two men is difficult, also because there is neither electricity nor cell phone reception in the region. Grzegorz Rybak, 45, who has worked with Bagshaw in Ukraine, told New Zealand radio that the people searching for Bagshaw were physically and emotionally exhausted but they would continue the search as best they could. “The police are looking for him, the army is looking for him, he has gained a lot of respect,” Rybak said.
Soldiers surrounded: Heavy fighting in the Soledar region(01:27)
The translator added that Bagshaw showed humanity at the highest level through his work in Bachmut. While Rybak does not know what happened to Bagshaw, he suspects that if the New Zealander is still alive, he is probably in Russian hands.
Former New Zealand Defense Secretary Wayne Mapp said the UK government, which has a far stronger diplomatic presence in the region, is doing everything it can to work with the Ukrainians and aid agencies to locate Bagshaw. The British Foreign Office has again asked all British nationals who are still in Ukraine to leave the country. There is a “real mortal danger”.