Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw: bodies of British volunteers in Ukraine returned by Russia in prisoner swap

The bodies of two British volunteers killed in Ukraine have been recovered in a prisoner swap with Russia.

Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the Ukrainian President, said that the bodies of Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 48, had been handed over by the Russians as part of an exchange today, 4 February.

The pair had been missing since last month while heading to the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region of the country, where heavy fighting was reported.They had been evacuating Ukrainians from the front line, in one of territories which Vladimir Putin’s has annexed.

According to a statement from the parents of Mr Bagshaw released last month, the pair were killed while attempting to rescue an elderly woman in an area of intense military action when their car was hit by an artillery shell.

Yermak tweeted: “Another big POWs swap. We managed to get back 116 of our people. Those are the defenders of Mariupol, Kherson partisans, snipers from Bakhmut vicinities, and other heroes of ours.

“We managed to take the bodies of the foreign volunteers who’d perished, Christopher Matthew Parry and Andrew Tobias Matthew, as well as the body of Evgen Kulyk, a Ukrainian who’d served with the French Foreign Legion and volunteered to join the Ukrainian forces.”

Mr Parry’s family paid tribute to their son in a statement released through the Foreign Office last month.

The statement from Rob, Christine and Katy Parry said: “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.

“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 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.”

Mr Bagshaw’s family - who are leading doctors in New Zealand - said their son “selflessly took many personal risks and saved many lives”.

Dame Sue and professor Phil Bagshaw, said: “He and a colleague, Chris Parry, were attempting to rescue an elderly woman from Soledar, in an area of intense military action, when their car was hit by an artillery shell.

“The Ukrainian authorities, and government officials in New Zealand and London have been working hard to learn more details but little further is known about the circumstances of his death.

“Andrew selflessly took many personal risks and saved many lives; we love him and are very proud indeed of what he did.”