A British bomb-disposal expert has died in Ukraine while dismantling a device in the city of Izyum. Chris Garrett, 40, was among three people said to have been critically injured in the city, in Kharkiv Oblast, on Tuesday (May 6).

He is said to have been wounded while trying to clear minefields, according to The Sun. Mr Garrett, a British volunteer from the Isle of Man, founded a bomb disposal charity, Prevail, and had been working in Ukraine to clear landmines years before the full Russian invasion in February 2022. He then returned four days after the invasion to help with clearance operations. Shaun Pinner, a former British soldier and Ukraine war prisoner, said today that Mr Garrett and another individual, who was not named, had "sadly passed away".

"I can confirm that Chris was among those who died," Pinner wrote on X on Wednesday. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected."

Earlier this year, Mr Garrett was sentenced to 14 and a half years in jail by a Russian proxy court in Donetsk.

He was convicted of terrorism charges by a court under Russian control, while using his skills as a bomb disposal expert to defuse and remove materiel left behind by Russian troops.

"The charges are ridiculous," Mr Garrett said at the time, according to ITV. "I mean, charged for terrorism by volunteering, or at times, being under contract by the Ukrainian armed forces."

"My job will be about preserving life, not taking it," said the former tree surgeon, affectionately known as Swampy to his friends, in a previous interview with The Sun in Mykolaiv.

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