The Russian ambassador to the UK has been summoned. The cause was the death of a British citizen captured by pro-Russian rebels in southeastern Ukraine. Paul Urey, 45, was arrested in the Zaporizhzhya region along with a 22-year-old compatriot on April 25.
According to pro-Russian rebels, the Briton died of illness and stress. He would receive all the necessary medical assistance, but gave up anyway. These separatist claims have so far not been independently proven. Liz Truss, Britain’s foreign secretary, called the death of the Briton ‘shocking’. “I am appalled by the news of the death of British aid worker Paul Urey, who was in the hands of Russian separatists. Russia must take full responsibility for this,” said Truss, who later summoned Russia’s ambassador Andrei Kevin.
Hired or helper?
The rebels said they had arrested the Briton because he was a mercenary working for Ukraine. He is said to have been previously active in Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya. British broadcaster Sky News reported on their arrests that they were “volunteers working separately from aid organizations in Ukraine.” Urey’s two daughters do not know that their father is in Ukraine.
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