A Russian military group says it has found the body of one of two voluntary aid workers reported missing in Ukraine.

On Monday, the parents of New Zealander Andrew Bagshaw confirmed he was missing in Ukraine while working as a volunteer aid. He was believed to have vanished along with a British man, Christopher Parry.

Reuters reported this morning that forces from Russia’s Wagner Group said they had found the body of one of the two aid workers reported missing in eastern Ukraine, the private military firm said in a statement.

It did not mention the name of the dead man but said documents belonging to both of the aid workers had been found on the body.

A photo posted alongside the statement appeared to show passports bearing the names of Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry, the two missing workers.

The Daily Mirror reported that Wagner Group founder Yevgeny Prigozhin’s representative had posted: “On January 8, the Ask Wagner hotline received a request to find two British citizens who disappeared on January 6 in Soledar - Andrew Bagshaw and Christopher Parry. Today the body of one of them was found, documents on both Britons were found with him.”

Bagshaw’s parents Philip and Susan said in a statement on Monday that their son was a very intelligent, independently-minded person, “who went there as a volunteer to assist the people of Ukraine, believing it to be the morally right thing to do”.

Andrew Bagshaw's parents Dame Sue and Phil. Photo / RNZ

Andrew’s parents love him dearly and are immensely proud of all the work he has been doing delivering food and medicines and assisting elderly people to move from near the battlefront of the war, the statement said.

Andrew was born in the United Kingdom. Philip and Susan said they were very grateful for all the agencies from both London and New Zealand, who were working so hard to find him.

They were particularly grateful to Kiwi K.A.R.E, an NGO working with volunteers in Ukraine.

Grzegorz Rybak was with Bagshaw, helping evacuate people and animals from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

He speaks English, Polish and Russian, and translated for Bagshaw as they worked to provide relief for the region.

He had told RNZ the humanitarian situation there was harrowing.

“We were delivering food, sanitary pads, encouraging people to evacuate,” he said.

Rybak said there had been those reluctant to leave their homes and belongings behind.

Rybak said he was hugely respected for his work there. He had been sharing a flat with Bagshaw for two weeks. He said the people still searching for him were exhausted, physically and emotionally, but were keeping up the search as best they could.

“The police are looking for him, the army is looking for him; he’s gained huge respect,” he said.

Grzegorz said Andrew showed humanity at the highest level through the work he was doing in Bakhmut.

While Grzegorz does not know what happened to Bagshaw, he believed if he was alive he was likely in Russian hands.

The difficulty in tracking him down, Grzegorz said, was the lack of cell phone reception or electricity throughout the region.

He hoped his friend was in hiding.

“I hope that he will be found in a cellar somewhere. I don’t say it’s optimistic but, of course, hope does last.”