Ukraine: Chris Parry details rescue mission before disappearance

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President Zelensky’s chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, announced the exchange on Twitter.

He said: “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 back the bodies of the foreign volunteers who’d perished – Christopher Matthew Parry and Andrew Tobias Matthew [Bagshaw] 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.”

Ukraine has now confirmed it swapped 116 of its personnel for 63 Russians.

The family of Mr Bagshaw said the two men were killed when they attempted to rescue an elderly woman from the besieged city of Soledar and their car was hit by a shell. They were last seen on January 6.

In a statement released by the UK Foreign Office in January, the family of Mr Parry said his “selfless determination in helping the old, young, and disadvantaged” had made them “extremely proud”.

They added: “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.”

Before heading to Ukraine, Mr Parry had been working as a running coach. The family estimate he may have saved over 400 lives plus those of abandoned animals.

Mr Bagshaw was a British national who lived in New Zealand before the war.

In a separate statement in January, Mr Bagshaw’s family said: “Andrew selflessly took many personal risks and saved many lives; we love him and are very proud indeed of what he did.

“The world needs to be strong and stand with Ukraine, giving them the military support they need now and help to rebuild their shattered country after the war.”

The UK government has warned against all travel to Ukraine by British nationals, citing a “real risk to life”.

They said all British nationals inside Ukraine should leave if it is safe to do so.

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