Australia investigates video purportedly showing national captured by Russian forces in Ukraine
By Hilary Whiteman, CNN
Brisbane, Australia (CNN) — Australia is working to verify the authenticity of a video that purportedly shows one of its nationals captured by Russian forces while fighting in Ukraine.
The video, posted to Russian Telegram accounts, shows a man with a muddied face being questioned in a forested area by another man speaking Russian, who appears to hit him twice across the head.
The man, whose hands appear to be tightly bound with silver tape, identifies himself on camera as 32-year-old Oscar Jenkins and says he lives in Australia and Ukraine.
When asked about the reports of a Melbourne man captured by Russia, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters Monday the government was seeking information through the Australian embassy in Moscow.
“This is concerning news, and we’re working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) to provide support, including, for this gentleman, trying to ascertain the details and the facts which are there,” Albanese said.
“We know that the Russians often put out information that isn’t right,” he added. CNN has reached out to DFAT for further comment.
In the video, which CNN has been unable to geolocate, Jenkins appears to have trouble understanding questions put to him in Russian. It is not clear whether he was speaking under duress.
He is asked why he is in Ukraine, to which he responds: “A soldier.”
Speaking in a mix of English, Ukrainian and Russian, he says he is a teacher in China and a student in Australia.
Embassy reopens
A LinkedIn profile under the name Oscar Jenkins suggests he was a student at Melbourne Grammar School before studying biomedical sciences at Monash University in Melbourne. CNN has reached out to both the school and university but has not received a response.
The profile also lists places of employment in China for several years from October 2015, including as a university lecturer in Tianjin. CNN has reached out to several employers listed.
Australia has long supported Ukraine in its fight against Russian forces, contributing more than 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($930 million) since the invasion began in February 2022.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong was in Ukraine last week to announce the reopening of the Australian embassy in Kyiv ahead of the ambassador’s arrival next month.
The embassy was closed by the previous government in 2022 due to “increased risk,” moving temporarily to Poland to avoid Russian strikes.
Foreign fighters have joined the war effort on both sides, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal war grinds on.
Last month, Russian state media reported that a 22-year-old British man had been taken prisoner while fighting for Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region.
Russian state media outlet TASS named the man as James Scott Rhys Anderson, a former British soldier, citing a military source.
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