Paul Urey is believed to have died five days ago “due to illness”, according to information his family has received from the Foreign Office. He was accused of carrying out “mercenary activities” after being arrested in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine. Urey, 45, was arrested at a checkpoint outside the southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on April 25 along with Dylan Healy, 22, a British fellow volunteer. Daria Morozova, who holds the title of human rights ombudsman in the DRC, said on social media that Mr Urey suffered from diabetes and respiratory, kidney and cardiovascular problems. He said: “For our part, despite the seriousness of the alleged crime, Paul Urey was given appropriate medical attention. However, given the diagnoses and the stress, he died on July 10.” In response, Mr Urey’s mother, Linda Urey, said in an online post that she was “absolutely devastated”. A spokesman for Number 10 said the Foreign Office was “urgently investigating” the reports, adding that “our thoughts are obviously with his family and friends”. The Foreign Office condemned the exploitation of prisoners of war after Mr Healy and fellow Briton Andrew Hill were detained by Kremlin forces in eastern Ukraine on charges of “mercenary activities”. Mr Urey’s daughters had told Sky News they were preparing for the worst after discovering he had been detained by Kremlin forces in April. They said they did not know he was in Ukraine until they learned of his arrest by the Kremlin. After Mr Urey’s arrest, he appeared in handcuffs on Russian television. During the interview, Mr Urey claimed he wanted to visit Ukraine “to see if it was as bad as the news was saying”, but it is not known if he was speaking under duress. Mrs Urey denounced the interview and said while her son was in the interview, he was “not acting in his natural way”. Two other Britons and a Moroccan captured while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death in the DRC for mercenary activities. The DPR is a breakaway entity recognized only by Russia, Syria and North Korea.
