British aid workers killed in Ukraine likely executed and tortured by Russian or Wagner forces, relatives say as they reveal chilling autopsy details
A pair of British aid volunteers killed near the front lines in Ukraine in January were likely tortured and executed by Russian troops or mercenaries from the Wthat is Agner group, the family of one of the victims has claimed.
The bodies of Chris Parry, 28, and Andrew Bagshaw, 47, a dual British-New Zealand citizen, were returned to Ukraine earlier this year as part of a prisoner exchange with Russia and were later repatriated to the UK.
They were thought to have been killed when their car was hit by an artillery shell during the evacuation of civilians from Soledar, a town near the disputed city of Bakhmut in Donetsk.
But Bagshaw’s parents, Professor Philip and Dame Susan Bagshaw, told the New Zealand outlet Stuff that the results of post-mortem examinations in the UK revealed signs of beatings and a cold-blooded execution, suggesting they were held hostage and tortured before being killed.
“He was definitely shot. He may have been abused. We hate to think about how bad, but the autopsy report is terrible,’ Philip said.
“Chris was shot twice, once in the torso and once in the head,” he said, adding that Andrew suffered the same fate.
“Well, that sounds like the recipe for an execution.”
Philip Bagshaw declined to provide further details about the autopsy, but said the results showed his son Andrew (pictured) was likely the victim of a war crime.
Philip declined to provide further details about the autopsy, but said the results showed his son was likely the victim of a war crime.
“How badly he was abused, we will probably never know,” Philip said, adding that working with Ukrainian authorities, he had uncovered more evidence that the official report of his son’s death in an artillery attack was probably untrue.
“There are all sorts of reasons to believe we don’t have the full story… there is no doubt that his phone was activated a few days after he went missing, which would imply that he was conscious two days after he went missing.”
Philip said it was “by far the most likely scenario” that both his son and companion Parry were stopped by the Wagner Group and abducted from their support vehicle.
The mercenary force, led at the time by the oligarch-turned-warlord Yevgeny Prigozhin, was heavily involved in Russia’s attempts to take the city of Soledar, the nearby settlement of Vuhledar and the city of Bakhmut, the epicenter of the bloody conflict in Eastern Ukraine.
Philip and Susan are now working with a lawyer and coordinating with Ukrainian authorities to further investigate their son’s death.
Philip claims that the British FCDO ‘played time’ when challenged about the circumstances of Andrew and Chris’ deaths, and maintained the official line that they had been killed in an artillery attack despite evidence to the contrary.
MailOnline has contacted the FCDO for comment.
Before their deaths in January, Andrew and Chris were evacuating civilians in some of the most war-torn areas near Bakhmut, where there has been fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces for months.
Using a Mercedes Sprinter van and well-worn cars, the pair helped carry supplies to the front lines and to safety those who would otherwise have perished amid the bitter conflict.
The volunteers left Kramatorsk in early January to drive to the nearby town of Soledar, Ukrainian police said, but never reached their destination.
Christopher Parry is depicted with a girl whose family he helped evacuate from the front lines
Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, site of heavy fighting with Russian troops in Donetsk region, Ukraine, Sunday, January 8, 2023
Plumes of smoke rise from a Russian attack during a 36-hour Orthodox Christmas ceasefire declared by Russian President Vladimir Putin as the Russian assault on Ukraine continues, from the frontline Donbas city of Bakhmut, Ukraine, January 7, 2023
Andrew Bagshaw is depicted preparing to go to the front lines
The National Police of Ukraine wrote in a social media post: “On January 7, around 5.15 pm, the duty unit of the Bakhmut district police received a report of the disappearance of two volunteers – citizens of Great Britain.
“It is known that the day before, January 6, at eight o’clock in the morning, Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry left Kramatorsk for Soledar, but contact with them was lost.”
Born in Cornwall but later moving to Cheltenham, Chris was a running coach before buying a one-way ticket to Ukraine in March last year.
He felt compelled to help Ukraine defend his country against Russia and planned to sign up for the Ukrainian Legion of Foreign Fighters, but said he was told his lack of combat experience would only make him a “hurdle” and turned his efforts into evacuations instead.
Speak against sky news in December, Parry recounted the horrific scenes he had seen first hand in Bakhmut and the stress of operating under the constant threat of serious injury or death.
“I went to a military commando unit and spoke to some soldiers who described Bakhmut as the ‘worst place they had ever been’.” They said “this is not war, this is hell”.
“The missiles landed on the building next door, the roof was shaking. I asked the soldiers how feasible it is to get to the location of the next evacuee, and they said it was 50/50 that you would be fired upon by a tank.
“I think people who try to evacuate now will either be shot or forced to become Russian for the rest of their lives.
“That’s why I was willing to take the risk, because I know that these people will be executed or taken away on the street.
“
Andrew, meanwhile, was born in the UK but lived in Christchurch, New Zealand.
His parents, Philip and Susan, are prominent figures in Christchurch, where they founded the Canterbury Charity Hospital and made significant contributions to youth mental health care.
Their son bought a one-way ticket to Ukraine in March last year, working with New Zealand-based NGO Kiwi Aid and Refugee Evacuation (KARE).
After the revelation that Andrew had apparently been tortured and executed, Philip stated that his son’s death should be registered in the “ocean of crime and abuse” surrounding the conflict in Ukraine.
He also urged the New Zealand government to take an active interest in the Ukrainian investigation into Andrew’s death.
“He’s just one of thousands of war crimes regularly committed there. The only difference here is that he is a New Zealand citizen, and it should be added that he has been a New Zealand citizen (a victim), because if and when a day of reckoning ever comes, there will be a list and New Zealand would be on that list.’