The devastated mother of a British aid worker who died in captivity in Ukraine has lashed out at his ‘killers’, saying Russia-backed separatists are ‘letting him die’.
Paul Urey, 45, who was imprisoned on April 25 in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region, died on July 10 in the self-proclaimed Donestk People’s Republic after being taken to a detention camp in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region, an official said today.
Linda Urey, his mother, said she was “absolutely devastated” when she learned of her son’s death. She accused rebel leaders of being “f***ing killers” and said, “I hate you all.”
In a Facebook post dripping with venom, she wrote: “I told you he was a very sick man, I said he had diabetes. I begged to give back my son.
‘Why did you let him die? I want answers. Why didn’t you release him?
“I hate you all. I’m definitely smoking, I’m real, I’m angry. Very very very angry. Killers, that’s you. Damned killers. I hate you.’
Daria Morozova – the DPR’s ‘human rights ombudsman’ – announced Mr Urey’s death on Telegram today, saying he had died of ‘illness and stress’.
British aid worker Paul Urey, who was imprisoned by pro-Russian separatists in Ukraine, has died in detention, Kremlin media say.
She said Urey suffered from “insulin-dependent diabetes, damage to the respiratory tract, kidneys and a number of diseases of the cardiovascular system.”
Morozova claimed he had received good health care while in prison, but eventually succumbed to his circumstances and “depression” over his fate.
In fact, inmates in the DPR say they have been held in modern concentration camps where beatings, torture, malnutrition and disease are common.
Urey, a father of two who is originally from Warrington, had gone to Ukraine earlier this year without telling his family to help the locals.
He traveled independently of any organization and did not work there for a good cause, but had been in contact with the NGO Presidium Network.
Dominik Bryne of the Presidium Network helped raise the alarm about Mr. Urey’s arrest, saying he stopped responding on April 25 and that a woman he tried to help was also receiving “strange messages.”
Dylan Healy, a fellow Brit who had also been in contact with the charity, is said to have been captured with him when the pair tried to cross a Russian checkpoint.
Ten days after his arrest, Mr Urey appeared on Russian state television to denounce the British government as ‘corrupt’ and criticize the British media for misrepresenting the war.
He also claimed to have fought in conflicts, including Afghanistan, Iraq and Libya, but relatives say these statements were almost certainly made under duress.
After that interview, it was revealed that the DPR accused Urey of being a foreign “mercenary” and planned to take him to trial in their kangaroo court.
Russian separatists often accuse foreigners they have captured of being ‘mercenaries’, as this means they are not protected by international law and can be prosecuted for war crimes.
If convicted, Mr. Urey would have been sentenced to death by firing squad.
Mr Urey was captured in the Zaporizhzhya region on April 25 when he tried to cross a Russian checkpoint (pictured, the city’s nuclear power plant after being attacked by Russia)
After his capture, Mr. Urey was taken to the Donetsk region where he was held in a detention camp (photo, the destroyed city of Mariupol in the same region)
By the time Urey was captured, Russia had been driven back from Kiev (pictured) and was preparing an attack in the Donbas while steadily taking territory in the south.
Daughters Courtney and Chelsea Coman, 17 and 20, then told Sky News they were “preparing for the worst” and feared their father “wouldn’t come home anytime soon”.
The pair said they had no idea Urey had gone to Ukraine and suspected he hadn’t told them because they allegedly tried to stop him.
“For now, we’re just going to make it. We really don’t know anything like if he’ll be okay there, if he’ll come home or go back to Ukraine as a prisoner swap,” Courtney said at the time.
“We just don’t know, so we’re preparing for the worst,” she added, before her sister stepped in, “But hope for the best.”
Chelsea said: “It may seem selfish to other people, but I kind of feel like ‘why did you do this?’
“We don’t know what’s going on, you don’t know if he’s safe, you don’t know where he is. We are more upset than anything.”
Mother Linda also spoke out shortly after Mr. Urey’s arrest – revealing that he had gone to Ukraine shortly after the war broke out, returned home briefly in early April and then returned to continue his outreach.
She said she ‘begged’ him not to return and instead lead a ‘boring life’ in the safety of the UK, but he refused to listen.
“I was on FaceTime with him until 4 a.m. Monday and that was it — gone,” she said — describing him as “too caring.”
When asked how she felt, she replied, “Like I want to die, like I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know. It’s terrible.’
MailOnline has reached out to the State Department for comment on Mr Urey’s case.
A Downing Street spokesman said: “The news is clearly alarming and our thoughts are clearly with his family and friends.”
A Foreign Office spokesman added: “We urgently request clarification from the Russian government over media reports that a British aid worker has died in Ukraine.”
Aiden Aslin (left) and Sean Pinner (right) are two fellow Britons being held in Donetsk, where they have been sentenced to death for being ‘mercenaries’ despite being regular soldiers
His death comes amid fears for the safety of two more Britons held in the DPR and sentenced to death for being “mercenaries” – Sean Pinner and Aiden Aslin.
The pair were captured in April while fighting for Ukraine against Russia in the besieged city of Mariupol, before being sentenced to death in May.
They are appealing the verdict, but Denis Pushilin – a self-proclaimed leader of the DPR – has already said he sees no reason to pardon and said earlier this week that an “execution site” is being prepared for them.
If the sentence is carried out, the two men will die by firing squad.
Although both Mr. Aslin and Mr. Pinner fought against Russia, they did so as part of Ukraine’s regular military — after moving to the country in 2016, marrying Ukrainian women, and signing into the military shortly after.
As such, they should be considered prisoners of war under international law that protects them from persecution for combat.
Mr Urey’s death will also raise fears for the safety of a number of other Britons detained in eastern Ukraine, including Mr Healy and Andrew Hill – a father of four British veteran from Plymouth who was also arrested in Mykolaiv in April. was captured.
Hill is believed to have fought for the Ukrainian Foreign Legion after traveling to the country as an aid worker before being persuaded to enlist.
He has appeared in Russian state media a number of times – including in April when he was filmed with a bandaged left arm, a makeshift bandage over his head and blood on his right arm.