Russia-Ukraine war: Two British volunteer workers missing, says Ukrainian police

Ukrainian police said they were searching for two British volunteer workers who had gone missing in eastern Ukraine. The search comes amidst heavy fighting taking place in the area.

On Monday, Ukrainian police said they were looking for two British volunteer workers who went missing in eastern Ukraine. In a police statement, the workers were identified as Christopher Parry and Andrew Bagshaw, and the police said they were trying to establish the whereabouts of the two men. Authorities said Bagshaw and Parry left Kramatorsk for Soledar on Friday morning last week and were reported missing by Saturday evening after contact with the two was lost.

The police statement did not disclose the details of Bagshaw and Parry’s volunteer work. Kramatorsk is 80 kilometers from Soledar, where the Ukrainian military said intense fighting was taking place.

“We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine,” said the British foreign office.

On Tuesday, a US official familiar with the matter said Ukrainian troops are to start training on the Patriot missile defense system in the United States in the coming weeks. The official said the training for the Patriot system would take place at Fort Sill in Oklahoma. This follows the previous training by Ukrainian troops in the US, including on the Switchblade drones.

Meanwhile, German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock made a surprise visit to Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, where she pledged more weapons and “concrete offers” to help Ukraine join the European Union. Baerbock reiterated Germany’s support for Ukraine throughout Russia’s invasion in a statement ahead of her meeting with her Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

“This city is a symbol of the absolute insanity of the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine and of the endless suffering that people, especially here in the east of the country, are confronted with every day,” said Baerbock, pledging more weapons would be provided to Ukraine but did not specify which ones, following last week’s pledge by Berlin to send Marder fighting vehicles to Ukraine as part of the additional military support.

Kuleba reiterated Kyiv’s call for tanks and said he did not doubt that Germany would eventually provide Ukraine with Leopard 2 tanks.