British aid worker captured by the Russians as he tried to rescue a woman and two children from Ukraine is facing the death penalty

• Dylan Healy, 22, has been charged with being a mercenary after being captured
• The aid worker faces the death penalty after trying to help woman and children
•  He has been charged alongside British military volunteer Andrew Hill

A British aid worker captured by the Russians as he tried to rescue a woman and two children from Ukraine is facing the death penalty.

Dylan Healy, 22, has been charged with being a mercenary, after being detained at a Russian checkpoint in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine, Russian media has reported.

He has been charged alongside British military volunteer Andrew Hill, who was detained at a similar time in Ukraine’s Mykolaiv region.

The duo are facing the same charges as Britons Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, military volunteers who were captured in Mariupol and have since been sentenced to death.

Details of accusations against Mr Healy were reported by a new site that has been linked to the pro-Russian group Donetsk People’s Republic.

Dylan Healy, 22, has been charged with being a mercenary, after being detained at a Russian checkpoint in Zaporizhzhya, Ukraine

Mr Healy was originally accused of being a spy, alongside aid volunteer Paul Urey, 45. 

The Russian TASS news agency cited a source in the power structures of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) as saying that criminal cases had been initiated and charges filed against the men under Article 430 of the DPR criminal code.

It said both men were refusing to cooperate with the investigation.

In May, Mr Urey was shown on Russian television calling the UK Government ‘corrupt’ in what was thought to be a scripted statement. 

The Telegraph reported that Ukrainian officials are hoping to exchange Mr Aslin and Mr Pinner for Russian prisoners of war, in order to halt their deaths. 

The Kremlin, which has followed a moratorium on the death penalty since 1996, could sway the decision from the Donetsk People’s Republic.

Former-US servicemen Alexander Drueke and Andy Huynh are also being held in custody by the Donetsk People’s Republic, having been captured last month near Kharkiv.

Yesterday, Russian ships killed 21 people after firing missiles near the port of Odesa, having withdrawn forces from Snake Island.

A block of flats in a village south of the port was hit, leaving at least one child dead, and wounding dozens. 

Ukraine’s army yesterday accused the Kremlin of deploying incendiary phosphorus munitions on Snake Island, after withdrawing from the Black Sea landmass.

Source: Read Full Article