Two British men have gone missing in Ukraine, the country’s national police said.

Officers said Andrew Bagshaw, 48, and Christopher Perry, 28, were last seen on Friday.

They were heading to the town of Soledar in the eastern Donetsk region of the country, where heavy fighting is reported, and contact with them was lost.

Bagshaw, a resident of New Zealand, was in Ukraine to assist in delivering humanitarian aid, according to New Zealand media reports.

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

It comes after five Britons were released by Russian-backed forces in Ukraine in September.

It is understood that Aiden Aslin, Shaun Pinner, John Harding, Dylan Healy and Andrew Hill were released and flown back to Britain.