Two more Britons held by Russian proxies in eastern Ukraine have been charged with fighting as mercenaries, Russian state media said, indicating they could be sentenced to death in a possible bid to pressure Western countries into a deal for their freedom .
Britons Andrew Hill, from Plymouth, and Dylan Healy, from Huntingdon, were also reportedly accused of “forceful seizure of power” and received “terrorist” training, according to a state news agency in Russian-controlled Donetsk. The report was received by an anonymous official and has not been confirmed.
Two Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death on identical charges by authorities in Russian-controlled Donetsk last month. No date has been set for the sentences to be carried out, and at least two of the men are appealing the sentence.
Hill, who has been identified as a father-of-four from Plymouth, has been featured on Russian television in several clips, including one aired last month with the headline: “Exclusive – before the execution”.
In the clip, he appears to have been informed that criminal charges could be brought against him, saying he was “detained here as a suspected mercenary”.
Hill, who is reported to have previously served in the British Army’s Lancaster Regiment, was first shown on Russian television after his capture in late April. In the video, the 35-year-old man appears badly injured, with his head bandaged and his left arm in a cast supported by a sling.
“I want to go home, to my homeland, to my family, to my children,” he said in the recent clip, which appears to have been filmed under duress. “I just want to go home. I will tell them the truth.”
The other man, Dylan Healy, was reportedly working in Ukraine as an aid volunteer. He and another Briton, Paul Urie, were reportedly detained near Zaporozhye in southeastern Ukraine as they drove to help a woman and two children evacuate.
He is said to be working in Ukraine independently of any major humanitarian organization. A friend told ITV he believed Healy went to Ukraine to “try to help and make a difference”.
The men’s backgrounds are likely to have little bearing on the outcome of the trial, which is being held in the Donetsk People’s Republic, a proxy government recognized only by Russia and Syria.
In the previous trial, all three men were convicted of fighting as mercenaries, despite serving as conscripts in the 36th Marine Brigade and entitled to the protection of the Geneva Conventions.
The Russian government said it was also planning a larger tribunal for Ukrainian soldiers captured at the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol.
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