A British man has appeared on video calling for help from British Prime Minister Boris Johnson as he appears to be held captive by pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) in eastern Ukraine.

According to foreign media, Telegrafi reports, John Harding, who is in his fifties and originally from Sunderland, was being interviewed by a Russian TV presenter.

In the video, he calls for help from the Prime Minister of Great Britain, Boris Johnson.

And he says he's been told he could face the death penalty.

Harding was reportedly captured in May while fighting with the Azov Regiment, part of the Ukrainian National Guard, when Ukrainian units defending the southeastern city of Mariupol were forced to surrender.

Der #britische #Söldner #JohnHarding, der bei der Verteidigung desWerks #AsowStahl alsMitglied im #AsowRegiment dabei war, wandte sich aus dem Gefällingen an #BorisJohnson.Er brach in Tränen aus, als er sich mit seinem letzten Wort an seine Tochter wandte.

#NATO #Todesstrafe #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/zNsg4prH6M

— Wahrheit 🇷🇺🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@wahrheitgewinnt) July 16, 2022

Friends and family of Mr Harding confirmed to the BBC that it was him in the video and his family is being supported by the Foreign Office.

He had been fighting in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine since 2018.

He previously told the BBC he had traveled there to use his skills as a combat medic to help fight pro-Russian rebels.

Separately, two other British men, Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner, who were also captured in Mariupol, have been sentenced to death by a Russian court.

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