Oscar Jenkins faces up to 15 years in jail for defending Ukraine

Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins is facing up to 15 years in a Russian jail after being criminally charged for fighting in defence of Ukraine against Vladimir Putin’s invasion.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the government would use whatever means possible to advocate for Jenkins, who was feared dead earlier this year before being revealed to be alive and in Russian captivity.

A new photograph of Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins has been released by the Luhansk People’s Republic Prosecutor’s Office.

The Prosecutor’s Office for the occupied territory of Lugansk said it had “approved the indictment in the criminal case against 33-year-old Australian Commonwealth citizen Oscar Charles Augustus Jenkins”, accusing him of being a “mercenary in an armed conflict”.

The office also shared a new photograph of Jenkins, dressed in a blue and yellow coat and holding a book.

Russian media outlets claimed that the former school teacher was paid a salary of around $11,000 to $15,000 per month to fight against the Russian army from March 2024 until he was captured last December. He could face a prison sentence of up to 15 years, the outlets reported.

“We’ll continue to make representations to the reprehensible regime of Vladimir Putin on behalf of Mr Jenkins,” Albanese said on Saturday. “We will stand up and use whatever avenues we have at our disposal to continue to make those representations.”

Albanese continued: “The people of Ukraine are fighting for a democratic nation, for their own sovereignty, but they’re also fighting for the international rule of law, which is why we do want to see peace, but we do want to see it on the terms that are acceptable to Ukraine.”

Foreign Minister Penny Wong has previously called on Russia to release Jenkins from captivity, warning that Australia’s response would be “unequivocal” if he did not receive the protections he is entitled to under international humanitarian law.

Jenkins’ plight first came to light when footage began circulating online on December 22, showing him in Russian captivity, with his hands tied, being paraded before a camera by Russian soldiers.

He was seen being slapped across the face and questioned.

In the video, Jenkins, speaking in English and broken Ukrainian, explained he had been fighting in the Donbas region to help Ukraine.

In a later video, which circulated in February, a frail-looking Jenkins told his Russian interrogators that he felt a “bit weak”.

“I’ve lost a lot of weight, I have a broken arm still I think, and my hand is not good,” he said.

Jenkins attended Melbourne Grammar School, studied biomedical sciences at Monash University and had been working as a lecturer at a Tianjin college in China.

His friends from Melbourne have described him as quiet, thoughtful and talented with an adventurous streak. But Jenkins posted online last year that he had lost touch with many of his friends as he travelled the world.

Wong said in January that the government held “grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare” and was “making urgent inquiries following the reports of his death”, but Russian authorities later said he was being held alive.

Russia’s ambassador to Australia Alexey Pavlovsky, who had served in the role since 2019, has left the country after completing his posting and has not been replaced.

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