They risked their lives to evacuate civilians from contested areas in eastern Ukraine: Chris Barry and Andrew Bagshaw rescued more than 400 people during an operation in Solador in early January. A few days later, pictures of their passports appear on Telegram.
On January 3, Belgian journalist Arnaud de Decker met a young Briton in Bagmut, Ukraine. His name is Christopher Barry, 28 years old, from Truro – a town in Cornwall. In a video released after the De Decker encounter, Barry is wearing a helmet and bulletproof vest. But he says he is not fighting for the Ukrainian army. Britain evacuates residents south of the city. “We get calls from people who want to evict their relatives,” Barry explains on camera. He says that some have volunteered and no longer dare to go out on their own.
Barry tells of a 51-year-old woman who asked him and his partner, Andrew Bagshaw, that morning to rescue her from the heavily contested south side of the city. As he speaks, a hand grenade is heard somewhere in the background. There aren’t many volunteers to go to the southern part of the city, De Decker says. “Yes, but there are still people who want to leave,” replied Barry. “So I’m ready to take her.” Three days later, Barry and Bagshaw were reported missing in Soledar. As of this week, it’s been clear: They haven’t escaped their last mission.
“It is with great sadness that we announce that our beloved Chrissy and her colleague Andrew Bagshaw have been killed while attempting to humanely evacuate from Solador in eastern Ukraine,” Barry’s family said in a statement. Ukrainian media reported that two Britons were “trying to rescue an elderly woman from an intensive military operation when her car was hit by an artillery shell.” Soledar was fiercely contested until the city was captured by the Russian army in mid-January.
“Very dangerous job now”
Before the war, the small town had about 10,000 inhabitants, most of whom fled long ago. But some were unable or unwilling to leave their homeland in the first place. Barry and Bagshaw wanted to help you. Two men are said to have saved more than 400 people. Journalist De Decker told the BBC they had done “probably the most dangerous job you can do at the moment”, which was “truly heroic”. According to the BBC, around a dozen volunteers are in the area to evacuate people who cannot evacuate on their own – many are funded solely by donations.
A video recording of the eviction of “Grandma Galia” in Donbass was widely shared on social media last November – including by Anton Zerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian Interior Minister. Images show rescuers’ car stranded on the side of the road after being hit by a projectile as they escape. The old woman and her rescuers must run to safety on foot under the thunder of cannon fire. “I’ve seen a lot of similar videos,” Gerashchenko wrote about records“But I’ve seen this many times.”
Funeral of Paksha in Kiev
According to the BBC, the fact that Barry and Bagshaw did not survive Soledar was first reported by a Telegram account allegedly associated with the Wagner mercenary group. Accordingly, Wagner’s militia found Barry’s body in Solatar, and pictures of Barry’s and Bagshaw’s passports were shared. During the weeks of fighting for the small town, Wagner’s mercenaries spearheaded Russian attacks. Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, also known as “Putin’s chef,” suffered heavy casualties when his troops captured the city.
The Foreign Office in London did not comment on who or how the two were rescued. A friend of the dead, who also runs evacuation missions to contested areas, said on Twitter that a memorial service for Paksha will be held at a Kiev church this Sunday, and that Barry’s funeral will be organized by his family. “We are very proud of his selfless commitment to helping the elderly, children and vulnerable people in Ukraine,” the statement said. “We don’t think we have to say goodbye to him.”
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