Andrew Hill, 35, appeared with his hand on a slingshot and his head tied after a gunshot wound as he asked when he could return to England. The father of four, from Plymouth, Devon, is believed to have fought as a volunteer as part of the Ukrainian Foreign Legion in a unit of Western fighters that included Scott Sibley, a former British Army soldier who was killed last week. Russia’s state-run Rossiya 1 television claimed that Hill had been handed over to Russian forces in the Mykolaiv region. Separately, two British aid workers reported yesterday that they had been taken prisoner by Russian troops at a checkpoint. I understand that Mr. Sibley, who served in the Royal Logistics Corps, was killed in a Russian artillery attack in a village between Mykolaiv and Kherson. It comes as a former US Marine who fought alongside Mr Sibley and Mr Hill in a foreign volunteer unit paid tribute to both British men. Issac Olvera wrote on Twitter that Mr Sibley “died holding the line that now separates Western values from repressive authoritarianism” and dismissed Russian allegations that Mr Hill was a mercenary, saying “his motives for defending of Ukraine was genuine and did not entail any economic benefit. “
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Two videos of Mr. Hill released by the Russian Ministry of Defense were broadcast on Russian state television on Friday. The channel said: “Andrew Hill laid down his arms and surrendered to Russian troops in the Mykolaiv area. “A group of mercenaries, in which the British fought, were defeated and wounded.” Hill said he traveled to Ukraine alone to help and had entered the country from Poland to help refugees near the border, before approaching him to “help further” inside the country. At one point, Mr. Hill looked up at his captors and asked, “Am I safe?” Scott Simbley was killed while fighting in Ukraine last week He was told he was and then asked: “Is there any way he can return to England or something?” One of his captors, who was left out of the camera, told him: “I can not say at this time how long it will take, but be sure that nothing endangers your life.” Mr Hill said he was carrying a CZ firearm “for personal protection” and was in a group of seven people, two of whom he did not know. When asked how much he had been paid, he said: “I have not been paid anything. “They said they were going to pay people, but no one was paid.” He also said that the only document he had on him was his passport, which was confiscated by Russian troops after he was captured. understands that other foreign volunteers were with Mr. Hill in an operation that led to his arrest. A former US Marine from Tennessee, who worked in Ukraine with a private military company, and an unnamed Danish national were also confirmed dead in Ukraine on Friday. Willy Joseph Cancel, 22, died in battle with Russian forces. He is the first U.S. citizen to be confirmed dead in Ukraine. Veteran of the British Armed Forces, Mr. Sibley, was named this week as the first British national to be killed while fighting in Ukraine. A tribute to Mr Sibley on Mr Hill’s page read “be quiet brother”. Issac Olvera, an American fighter who was a member of the same unit as the two Britons, said he met them after arriving in Ukraine. Mr Olvera wrote on Twitter: “Scott and I arrived in Ukraine the same day and formed a team together. “I’m here to fight.” These were Scott’s words when I asked him what he wanted to do as we helped drive the Russians out of Kyiv and looked for our next mission. “Scott’s second act was to transfer the skills he had learned to the British Army to another hotpot in Ukraine. “He died holding the line that now separates Western values from repressive authoritarianism. “Literally his last act was to prevent a Russian advance into a city of strategic importance.” In another series of tweets, he wrote: “I met Andy on my first day in Ukraine and we were on the same team until recently. “He is not a mercenary. His motives for defending Ukraine were genuine and of no economic benefit. “No matter what he says, think he is under pressure and his captors can force him to say anything. Andy may seem hurt but he is not defeated. We look forward to seeing you again, friend. “
