Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Friends remember volunteer killed trying to help civilians

Friends and volunteers have gathered in Kyiv’s St Sophia’s Cathedral to say goodbye to volunteer Andrew Bagshaw who was killed with his colleague Christopher Parry while they were evacuating people from a front-line Ukrainian town

Via AP news wire
Sunday 29 January 2023 13:21 GMT

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Friends and volunteers gathered in Kyiv's St Sophia’s Cathedral on Sunday to say goodbye to volunteer Andrew Bagshaw who was killed with his colleague Christopher Parry while they were evacuating people from a front-line Ukrainian town.

Bagshaw, 48, a New Zealand-British joint national, and Briton Parry, 28, went missing earlier this month while heading to the town of Soledar, in the eastern Donetsk region, where heavy fighting was taking place.

Volunteers spoke of their memories of Bagshaw and read out tributes from his family.

Nikolletta Stoyanova, a friend of Bagshaw’s, spoke afterwards of his bravery.

“Even if no one wanted to go to Soledar, they can't do it. Because if he understood that someone needs help, they need to do this help for these people,” Stoyanova said.

Bagshaw's father, Phil, told reporters in New Zealand that his son wanted to do something to help.

“He was a very intelligent man, and a very independent thinker,” he said. “And he thought a long time about the situation in Ukraine, and he believed it to be immoral. He felt the only thing he could do of a constructive nature was to go there and help people.”

Ukrainian police said on Jan. 9 that they had lost contact with Bagshaw and Perry after they headed for Soledar. Their bodies were later recovered.

In a statement released earlier this week, Parry’s family said he had been “drawn to Ukraine in March in its darkest hour.” It added that he’d “helped those most in need, saving over 400 lives plus many abandoned animals.”

Friends said that the volunteers’ bodies will be handed over to their families in the U.K.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine: https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in