Russia facing fresh calls to release Oscar Jenkins after new video

The Kremlin is facing fresh demands to release Oscar Jenkins after a new video of the Australian POW emerged on social media.

The Albanese government still holds “serious concerns” for Australian prisoner of war (POW) Oscar Jenkins after an unverified video surfaced on social media purportedly showing him alive.

The new vision shows Mr Jenkins being questioned in a much softer manner than the infamous post-skirmish interrogation footage that shocked Australians late last year.

But any negotiations for the Melbourne-born man’s release will play out against a decade-long backdrop of icy relations between Canberra and Moscow.

The Kremlin has also long-sought to delegitimise foreigners fighting in Ukraine by branding them mercenaries, which do not have a right to POW protections.

Penny Wong on Tuesday stressed that “Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war”, covered by internationally-recognised rules of war and “Russia must observe them”.

An unverified video allegedly shows Australian POW Oscar Jenkins alive in Russian custody. Picture: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_AlKODefw

“First, I want to say that we call on Russia to release Mr Jenkins,” the Foreign Minister told the ABC.

“We hold serious concerns for his welfare, and … we will continue to engage with both Ukraine and the International Committee the Red Cross, in relation to Mr Jenkins.

“The government was aware of this video in recent days.

“I will say, we do know that Russia is very prone to misinformation and disinformation, and I think in relation to Mr Jenkins … we should always be aware of Russia’s propensity to provide us with incorrect information.”

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has access on the Russian side and facilitates prisoner exchanges in the three-year full-scale war between Russia and Ukraine.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong is calling on Russia to release Mr Jenkins. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Anthony Albanese also said earlier Australian officials had “made it clear to Russia that Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war and that there are obligations that kick in in accordance with that”.

“We’ve also, of course, made representations to Ukraine, including a one-on-one discussion that I have had with President Zelensky, raising Mr Jenkins’ welfare,” the Prime Minister told the ABC.

“We have called for Russia to release Mr Jenkins so that he can come home to his family.”

‘I feel a bit weak’

In the new video, Mr Jenkins appears clean-faced, clad in green fatigues and donning a beanie.

It is a stark contrast to the dirt-caked face that made headlines after news broke of his capture.

“My name is Oscar Jenkins, I am Australian,” Mr Jenkins says in the video.

A man off screen – seemingly one of his captors – identified Mr Jenkins as a POW from Ukraine’s 66th Mechanised Brigade.

NewsWire understands he was fighting as part of the brigade’s 402nd Rifle Battalion when he was captured near Makiivka, a tiny village on the Zherebets River in Luhansk Oblast.

NewsWire understands Mr Jenkins was fighting as part of the 402nd Rifle Battalion in Ukraine’s 66th Mechanised Brigade when he was captured. Picture: Screengrab

“Tell us about your health condition, about your mood. Are you OK?” the man asks Mr Jenkins.

“I would like more freedom,” Mr Jenkins replies.

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

“But you are alive,” the Russian interjects.

“So the information about your death is not right?”

“Correct,” Mr Jenkins says.

Mr Jenkins’ questioner says the new video was taken on January 17, a day after Senator Wong said Russian officials had confirmed he was alive.

NewsWire has not been able to independently verify where or when the video was taken.

Reverse image searches have shown the video was uploaded as early as February 8.

Mr Jenkins says he ‘would like more freedom’. Picture: YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_AlKODefw

Speculation around Mr Jenkins’ fate has been rife since footage showing Russian troops interrogating him began circulating on pro-Kremlin social media channels on December 22.

Shortly after, the same accounts started sharing another clip showing dead soldiers stacked in the back of a truck, claiming Mr Jenkins was among them.

NewsWire independently confirmed the video was old and the audio had been altered.

But uncertainty intensified after reports that he had been killed – reports that Ukrainian security sources told NewsWire were baseless at the time.

Originally published as Russia facing fresh calls to release Oscar Jenkins after new video