Another Briton captured by Russia in Ukraine urges UK PM Johnson to facilitate his release

Another British man, who had been fighting Russia as part of the Azov Regiment, was reportedly held by the authorities of the separatist region-- Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). The confirmation came when John Harding, who is in his 50s, posted a video on a social messaging application, where he pleaded with outgoing UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson to approach the Russian head to save his life. The video was originally recorded during an interview with a Russian TV. In the video, he claimed to be killed by the Russians "if his freedom would not be secured by PM Johnson within a limited time frame." 

"I would say to Boris Johnson if you can help, if you can influence President Zelenskiy, if you can influence the president of the Donetsk People’s Republic, or if you can influence President Putin, then please do. People’s lives depend on this. So if you can, please help," The Guardian quoted Harding as saying during the interview. According to media reports, it is believed that the British man was apprehended in May while he was fighting against the Russian troops in Ukraine's Mariupol. He was reportedly associated with the Azov Regiment-- a part of the Ukrainian National Guard. His arrest came when Ukrainian soldiers defending the city were forced to surrender after the Russians launched a massive attack. Harding's family members told the BBC that he had been fighting in eastern Ukraine's Donbas region since 2018. 

Briton died in 'Russian captivity'

Earlier in April, a British national, Paul Urey, 45, was detained by the separatist authorities along with another British man, Dylan Healy. The duo got arrested when they were helping Ukrainians in the evacuation process since the onset of the brutal Russian aggression. According to Daria Morozova, the human rights ombudswoman for Moscow, both were detained in April at a checkpoint near Zaporizhzhia, some 470 kilometres southeast of Kyiv. On Friday, July 15, the UK Foreign Ministry confirmed that Urey died in custody. 

Presidium Network co-founder Dominik Byrne said Urey had diabetes and needed a regular supply of insulin and accused separatist authorities of ignoring the medical requirements of the British aid worker. "It’s obvious that his welfare was not looked after. The Russian authorities and the Donetsk People’s Republic knew he had need of insulin but all the way through this the Red Cross has denied welfare access to him and has never been able to verify his actual conditions in prison," said Byrne. He further said that multiple agencies including the UK government and Red Cross had been involved in the release of Urey, "but all went in vain". Besides Urey, two other British men, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who were also arrested in Mariupol, were sentenced to death by a Russian proxy court in the DPR in June. 

Image: AP