Ukraine war: Funeral held for volunteer Chris Parry

A funeral for a British aid worker who was killed in eastern Ukraine in January has taken place.

Chris Parry, 28, who was born in Truro, Cornwall, and had been living in Cheltenham, died alongside fellow volunteer Andrew Bagshaw, 47.

The pair were attempting to rescue a woman when it is believed their car was hit by an artillery shell.

Mr Parry was "loved by so many people", his sister Kate told mourners at Truro Cathedral.

The coffin, draped in a Cornish flag, was taken into the cathedral for the funeral service led by Canon Alan Bashforth.

Mr Parry's sister Kate said: "Over the past few months, one thing which has helped my parents and I is understanding how much Chris was loved by so many people.

"We've connected and spoken to a lot of his colleagues and friends in Ukraine and they have shared so many wonderful stories of how they met Chris and the things they did together."

Mr Parry's friend Tom said: "There are few out there built like Chris and fewer still who would use their talents to do something truly amazing.

"He found something as an evacuator that requires a special type of person.

"It makes me happy to know that he was in his element out in Ukraine and it says a lot about him that he found his happy place helping good people in bad places."

Mr Parry told BBC Radio Cornwall's James Churchfield on 2 January that his life in Ukraine, near the eastern city of Bakhmut, was "continuously" under overhead bombardment by Russian forces.

"I feel more at home the closer I get to the front," he said.

"I've been spending so much time there and I'm actually more focused when I'm in those areas that that's where I feel like I have more purpose.

"So I inherently feel happier being there because when I am there, I'm helping somebody."

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