Donetsk authorities claim to have received no appeals from London over Paul Urey death

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The authorities of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) have assured that they have not received any appeal from the UK regarding the death of British citizen Paul Urey, who died in detention by pro-Russian forces in the Ukrainian region.

The pro-Russian DPR announced on Friday Urey’s death in custody of natural causes, the first foreigner to die in the custody of pro-Russian separatists since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

However and despite the denunciations and recriminations launched from London, Donetsk ombudsman Daria Morozova has reported that the pro-Russian authorities have received no appeals from the UK over Urey’s death, Russian agency TASS reports.

Urey, identified by Donetsk authorities as a “mercenary,” died on July 10 from “chronic illness and a depressed psychological state,” however, later detailed “acute coronary insufficiency, complicated by pulmonary and cerebral edema.”

According to the Ombudsman, Urey was taken prisoner in April while attempting to cross a checkpoint controlled by DPR troops. In contrast, other British voices claim that Urey was working independently in Ukraine as a humanitarian aid volunteer.

The news soon sparked criticism from London, which summoned the Russian ambassador, Andrei Kelin, and, in the words of Foreign Minister Liz Truss, warned that Russia “must answer fully” for what happened.

Right now two other British citizens, Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin, are on death row after being charged with collaborating with Ukrainian forces, and two more, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill, have been charged.