Two British Voluntary Workers Lost On Their Travel From Kramatorsk To Soledar In Ukraine: Help Evacuation Of Citizens
JAKARTA - Ukrainian police said on Monday they were looking for two British volunteer workers missing in eastern Ukraine, a fierce battle between Ukrainian and Russian forces.
A police statement identified the two as Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, with ongoing efforts to ensure the existence of the two.
Police said the two of them left Kota Kramatorsk for Soledar City on Friday morning, then were reported missing on Saturday night after contact with them was cut off. Police statement said they were 28 and 48 years old, but did not provide details of their voluntary work.
Kramatorsk is about 80 km (50 miles) from Soleredar, where the Ukrainian military says fighting was intense with Russian troops taking place.
"We support the families of two British men who are missing in Ukraine," the British Foreign Office said.
Meanwhile, citing Sky News' The Guardian, Parry, reportedly as a running coach for Cheltenham, recently said he had been driving to the city and village on the front lines to evacuate local residents.
"I take it every day as it is. Sometimes when you see some really terrible things, it sticks to you."
"But you have a job. You are in a careful position and as soon as you pick up these people, you have to get out and stay away from the artillery, which is constantly exploding around us," he explained.
"When you come back and think, 'it's a bit close, it's just 100 meters from us' that's when you think maybe my luck will run out, but it's worth saving these people."
Meanwhile, Bagshaw traveled to Ukraine from New Zealand, has sent aid and evacuated residents, according to a statement given to The Guardian by the Kiwi Aid and Refugee Evacuation group.
In a statement about Bagshaw, his parents Philip and Dame Susan Bagshaw, who founded the Canterbury Charity hospital, confirmed their son was missing. He is "a very intelligent, independent-minded person," who went to Ukraine as a volunteer, they said.
"He was born in England. Philip and Susan are very grateful to all agencies, both from London and New Zealand, who worked very hard to find him," the statement added.
" Andrew's parents love him very much and are very proud of all the work he has done in delivering food and medicines and helping parents move from near the battlefield."
In August, Bagshaw a genetics researcher told New Zealand news outletsama, he had evacuated most elderly people from the city of Soledar in eastern Ukraine for about a month.