Andrew Bagshaw Wiki

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The bodies of British volunteer aid workers Chris Parry and Andrew Bagshaw have been returned to Ukraine as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia.

Parry, 28, and Bagshaw, 47, are believed to have died when their car was hit by an artillery shell during the evacuation of civilians from Soledar in January.

Their return is part of a prisoner exchange of 179 prisoners between Ukraine and Russia, returning 116 Ukrainian and 63 Russian POWs to their respective countries.

Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said:

Andriy Yermak, the Ukrainian president’s chief of staff, said: “We managed to return 116 of our people, defenders of Mariupol, partisans from Kherson, snipers of the Bakhmut [front] and our other heroes.”

He added: ‘In addition, we managed to return the bodies of the dead foreign volunteers: Christopher Matthew [Parry] and Andrew Tobias Matthew Bagshaw, as well as the body of the dead volunteer soldier […], Yevhenii Olegovich Kulyk.

Killed

Bagshaw and Parry died during a humanitarian evacuation attempt in eastern Ukraine in January, Parry’s family previously said.

The couple moved to Soledar, in the east of the country, on January 6, 2023 to volunteer in relief efforts.

Mr Parry, a Cornish software engineer, first volunteered in March 2022 and got involved in helping to get civilians out of towns close to the conflict.

His parents said that he saved the lives of more than 400 people and many abandoned animals.

Mr Bagshaw’s family

Mr Bagshaw’s family said the couple were trying to rescue an elderly woman when her car was hit by a shell.

‘Andrew selflessly took many personal risks and saved many lives; we love him and are very proud of what he did’, say his parents Dame Sue and Professor Phil Bagshaw.

The head of Russia’s Wagner Group said last month that his private mercenary forces had found the bodies of one of the aid workers.

Yermak said that Ukraine is continuing efforts to bring everyone home.

The Russian Defense Ministry said that the released Russian military included people of a “sensitive category”, whose exchange was made possible through the mediation of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to the agencies.