Two UK citizens missing in Ukraine

Ukrainian police identify two missing men as Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry

Smoke rises after shelling in Soledar, the site of heavy battles between Ukrainian and Russian forces in the Donetsk region. AP

Two British men have gone missing in Ukraine, the UK Foreign Office and Ukrainian police have said.

Police in Ukraine said they were looking for two British volunteers who had gone missing in the eastern part of the country, where heavy fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces continues.

A police statement named the two men as Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry.

The police said the two had left the city of Kramatorsk for the town of Soledar on Friday morning and were reported missing on Saturday evening. The men are reportedly aged 28 and 48.

Police gave no details of the type of work they were involved in.

Kramatorsk is about 80km from Soledar, where Ukraine's military says fighting is particularly intense.

The families of both the men are receiving support from the British government.

“We are supporting the families of two British men who have gone missing in Ukraine,” a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office representative said.

The office has warned against all travel to Ukraine due to the fighting. It says there is a “real risk to life” and that British citizens still in Ukraine should leave immediately.

Kyiv has denied Russian claims to have killed 600 Ukrainian servicemen in a “retaliatory strike” in Kramatorsk.

The Russian Ministry of Defence said on Sunday that the servicemen were killed in a strike on two buildings in Kramatorsk being used as barracks.