Two British aid workers are said to have been captured by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The British non-profit organization Presidium Network said Paul Yuri, 45, and Dylan Healy, 22, were arrested on Monday.
They are believed to have been captured at a checkpoint south of the city of Zaporozhye in southeastern Ukraine.
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Mr Yuri has been described as a “family man with children” who is “not in the army”, so he decided to work in the humanitarian sector and traveled extensively.
Uri’s family said in a statement: “My family and I are extremely worried. We know that Paul and his friend, who are volunteers for humanitarian aid in Ukraine, have been captured by the Russians.
“He was there of his own free will. We want everyone’s support to bring him home and pray that he is safe.”
They said Mr Yuri had type 1 diabetes and needed insulin.
Mr Healy, meanwhile, was previously a kitchen manager at a UK hotel chain.
The Presidium Network said the couple worked as volunteers and were known to the organization but not related to them.
It says the two were working to evacuate a woman and two children from the region when they were captured at a Russian military checkpoint.
Mr Yuri last contacted the Presidium network at 4 am. Since then, they have received messages from someone who claims to be a volunteer but is unable to provide personal information to verify their identity.
Three hours after they were captured, the house of the woman they evacuated was stormed by Russian soldiers, who forced her husband to lie on the floor and asked her how she “knew these British spies.”
Dominique Byrne, one of the founders of the presidium’s network, said: “Our concern for these people is that the Russians will portray them as British spies, which is not true. They are civilian volunteers.”
Earlier, International Trade Minister Anne-Marie Trevelyan told Sky News that the Foreign Office was “doing everything possible to support them”.
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