Penny Wong calls on Russia to release Oscar Jenkins after confirming Aussie is alive

Australian Oscar Jenkins, who was feared dead after being captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine, has been confirmed as alive and in captivity.

An Australian who was feared dead after being captured by Russia while fighting for Ukraine has been confirmed as alive and in captivity.

Russia has confirmed to the Australian Government that former Melbourne schoolteacher Oscar Jenkins, 32, is “alive and in custody”, Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong announced on Wednesday.

“We still hold serious concerns for Mr Jenkins as a prisoner of war,” she said.

“We have made clear to Russia in Canberra and in Moscow that Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war and Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment.”

Ms Wong said Australia now called on Russia to release Mr Jenkins.

Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has announced Australian Oscar Jenkins is alive and in captivity.

“If Russia does not provide Mr Jenkins the protections he is entitled to under international humanitarian law, our response will be unequivocal. DFAT continues to provide consular support to the family,” she said.

The revelation comes just two weeks after foreign fighters who served alongside Mr Jenkins in Ukraine claimed they had heard the Australian had been tortured and executed by Russian soldiers last year.

In December a video showing Mr Jenkins being slapped and hit in the head by a Russian captor began circulating on the platform Telegram.

Standing with his hands tied behind his back, Mr Jenkins answered in English and broken Ukrainian as a Russian-speaking man off camera asked for his name, nationality, profession and why he was in Ukraine.

When unable to understand a question, Mr Jenkins was slapped by his captor.

The Australian was hit in the head again after telling his captor he was in Ukraine as a “soldier”.

Mr Jenkins said he was formerly a teacher who had been studying in China for nine years, describing himself as a biology student, adding he had wanted to help Ukraine.

Australian diplomats scrambled to locate Mr Jenkins, and Russia’s Ambassador to Australia Alexey Pavlovsky was called into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra to discuss the concerning reports.

Oscar Jenkins in the video in which he is interrogated by Russian fighters after being captured in Donbas. Picture: Telegram

Neil Gumley, president of Toorak Prahran Cricket Club where Mr Jenkins was a star player and later a coach, said he was cautiously optimistic about the news.

“I’m still cautious but I’m excited,” Mr Gumley said.

Mr Jenkins played for TPCC for many years, winning a flag with the senior men’s team in 2013/14, batting third and bowling first change.

Mr Gumley said a group chat involving current and former players from the club had lit up with the positive news on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before Ms Wong’s official announcement.

“We’re all excited, and hopefully we’ll get to see him soon,” Mr Gumley said.

Oscar Jenkins when playing cricket for Toorak Prahan. Picture: Instagram

An old school friend of Mr Jenkins, who asked not to be named, said his former classmates had been through the ringer with the earlier reports he had been killed.

“This has been a huge rollercoaster ride of emotions for everyone who cares about Oscar; this is great news for his family,” the friend said.

“I can’t tell you what a relief this is for all his mates who felt sick after it was mistakenly reported he had been killed.

“Reading reports that Oscar had been killed was gut wrenching.”

“A lot of people who care about Oscar will today be breathing a huge sigh of relief.”

Mr Jenkins attended the prestigious Melbourne Grammar School, where contemporaries remembered him as mild mannered, well liked and an exceptional athlete.

He moved to China in 2015 and had been working as a teacher there, only occasionally returning to Australia, including for a cricket reunion in February 2024.

Meanwhile, a Russian military journalist told his Telegram followers that Jenkins’ life had been spared.

The post, which has been translated from Russian, was written by the same reporter who shared the footage of Jenkins and his captor in December. It was shared on January 17 and claimed the Australian government had been trying to negotiate Jenkins’ return.

It read: “The Australian leadership is starting a dialogue with the Russian Federation for no apparent reason regarding the return of their fighter to his homeland.

“Mercenaries rarely survive on the battlefield. If it weren’t for the mercy of Russian servicemen, this poor fellow would have already fertilised the soil, ingloriously disappearing in the name of the interests of a foreign country.”