By Charlotte Webster-
A British aid worker who was detained by Russian separatists in Ukraine has died, a family member told Sky News.
Paul Urey is believed to have died five days ago “due to sickness”, according to information his family has received from the Russian Foreign Office.
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His mother, Linda Urey, said she was “absolutely devastated” and described the separatists as “murderers”.
In a Facebook post, she said: “I’m truly angry. I told you he was a very sick man, I told [you] he was diabetic, I begged on Sky News to give me my son back. Why did you let him die? I want answers. Why didn’t you release him?
“I hate you all. I’m absolutely fuming, I really am. I’m angry, very very very very angry. Murderers, that’s what you are.”
Daria Morozova, the human rights ombudsperson for the Moscow-backed separatist leadership in Donetsk, said Mr Urey, who was a British “mercenary”, died in captivity on Sunday. She said he had died of chronic illnesses and stress.
“From our side, he was given the necessary medical assistance despite the grave crimes he committed,” she added. Mr Urey and Dylan Healey were captured at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporizhzhia in south-eastern Ukraine.
He was charged with committing “mercenary activities” after being captured in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine.
The pair travelled to Ukraine of their own accord, the organisation said. They were driving to help a woman and two children to evacuate when they went missing.
The Foreign Office said at the time that it was urgently seeking more information following reports of British nationals being detained in Ukraine. DPR spokeswoman Daria Morozova claimed the Brit died “due to illness and stress”
Mr Urey, 45, was seized at a checkpoint outside the Southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia on 25 April alongside Dylan Healy, 22, a fellow British volunteer.
Daria Morozova, who has the title of human rights ombudsman in the DPR, said on social media that Mr Urey had been suffering from diabetes and respiratory, kidney and cardiovascular issues.
She said: “On our part, despite the severity of the alleged crime, Paul Urey was provided with appropriate medical assistance. However, given the diagnoses and stress, he passed away on July 10.”
In response, Mr Urey’s mother Linda Urey said in a post online that she is “absolutely devastated”.
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A Number 10 spokesman said the reports of his death are “clearly alarming”, adding “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 held by Kremlin forces in eastern Ukraine charged with “mercenary activities”.
Dominik Byrne, the co-founder and chief operating officer of the Presidium Network, said at the time of Urey’s capture that he was working independently in Ukraine as a humanitarian aid volunteer.
In early May, Urey appeared on Russian state television in handcuffs. In the footage, which his mother said had been made under duress, he criticised the UK government and slammed British media coverage of the war.
Urey’s sisters previously told Sky News: “We’re just about coping for now. We really don’t know anything, like if he’ll be OK there, if he’s coming home or going back to Ukraine as a prisoner swap.
“We just don’t know, so we’re preparing for the worst.”
During the interview, Mr Urey claimed he wanted to visit Ukraine “to see if it was as bad as the news said” but it is not known if he was speaking under duress.
Ms Urey denounced the interview and said while it was her son in the interview he was “not acting in his natural way”.
Two other Britons and a Moroccan man who were captured while fighting for Ukraine have been sentenced to death in the DPR for mercenary activities.