Britons Andrew Hill of Plymouth and Dylan Healy of Huntington were also charged with “violent seizure of power” and “terrorist” training, according to a Russian-controlled Donetsk state news agency. The report comes from an unnamed official and has not been confirmed. Two Britons and a Moroccan were sentenced to death on the same 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 verdict. Hill, identified as a father-of-four from Plymouth, has appeared on Russian television in several clips, including one aired last month titled: “Exclusive – before the execution”. In the clip, he appeared to have been told he could face criminal charges, saying he was “being held here as a suspected mercenary.” Hill, who is said to have previously served in the British Army’s Lancaster Regiment, was first seen on Russian television after his arrest in late April. In the video, the 35-year-old appeared to be seriously injured, with his head bandaged and his left arm in a cast and supported by a sling. “I want to go home, to my country, to my family, to my children,” he said in the recent clip, which appeared 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 Urey, were reported to have been arrested near Zaporizhzhia in southeastern Ukraine while driving to help a woman and two children evacuate. He was said to be working in Ukraine independently of any major humanitarian organization. A friend told ITV he believed Healy had gone to Ukraine “to try and help and make a difference”. The men’s backgrounds will likely have little bearing on the outcome of a 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 has said it is also planning a larger tribunal for Ukrainian soldiers captured at the Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol.
