Russian government urged to abide by international law after Australian man Oscar Jenkins captured in Ukraine
The Russian government has been urged to “fully adhere” to humanitarian law after reports its forces had captured a Melbourne man in Ukraine.
The Russian government has been warned to “fully adhere” to its international humanitarian law obligations, as Australian authorities scramble for more information about a Melbourne man who was captured by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Australian officials are currently confirming the whereabouts of Oscar Jenkins, 32, after footage of him being interrogated by Russian officials began circulating on pro-Russian social media channels on Sunday.
Acting foreign affairs minister and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus said the government was providing consular support to Mr Jenkins’ family, and confirmed Australian officials were “making representations to the Russian government.
“We urge the Russian Government to fully adhere to its obligations under international humanitarian law, including with respect to prisoners of war.
“Our immediate priority is understanding where Mr Jenkins is and confirming his wellbeing.
“I reiterate the Government’s clear advice to all Australians – do not travel to Ukraine.”
Earlier on Monday, Anthony Albanese vowed to “always look after Australians” after learning of Mr Jenkins’ situation.
Mr Albanese said the Australian Embassy in Moscow was working to get the details.
“This is concerning news, and we’re working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide support, including for this gentleman, trying to ascertain the details and the facts which are there,” he told reporters in Sydney.
“We know that the Russians often put out information that isn’t right.
“So our embassy in Moscow is working. But in addition to that, Foreign Affairs and Trade are working here as well.”
He said his government would “make appropriate representations”.
“We always look after Australians,” he said.
“That’s the job of an Australian government — to make representations for Australian citizens.”
The video of Mr Jenkins emerged just days after Australia pledged fresh aid to Ukraine and announced the reopening of the embassy in Kyiv.
Canberra has given Kyiv north of $1.5bn worth of support, including munitions and battle tanks.
The bipartisan backing for Ukraine has landed Australia a spot on Russia’s register of “unfriendly countries” – the Kremlin’s geopolitical naughty list.
Russia’s war in Ukraine has killed and wounded hundreds of thousands on both sides and displaced more than 10 million people.
Some 11,500 Ukrainians have found safe haven in Australia.
Wanted Putin propagandist begs for prisoner swap
Earlier on Monday, pro-Kremlin propagandist Simeon Boikov, known by his moniker Aussie Cossack offered himself up for a prisoner swap, trophying Mr Jenkins as a Western mercenary.
He posted a video on his Telegram channel calling Mr Jenkins’ capture “excellent news”.
“Thank you to the Russian military. Glory to the Russian military,” Boikov said in the video.
“They’ve taken Oscar Jenkins, an Australian mercenary, prisoner. Now we have an Australian prisoner, finally.”
Boikov has been hiding at the Russian consulate in Sydney since he was convicted of assaulting a 76-year-old man at a pro-Ukraine rally in Sydney more than two years ago.
Since entering the consulate he has been pumping out Kremlin disinformation from a makeshift studio, including politically-charged falsehoods around the high-profile stabbings in Sydney earlier this year and the 2023 Voice referendum.
“The only way Oscar Jenkins is going to avoid 35 years in a gulag is if the Australian government agrees to a prisoner exchange deal,” Boikov said.
“I’m volunteering my candidacy. I’m happy to put myself forward, and I’m sure the Russians will be happy to accept … me because I’ve been sitting in this Russian consulate for two years waiting for this moment.”
He called on Anthony Albanese to “do a deal”.
“We’re celebrating here in the Russian Consulate,” Boikov said.
“Glory to the Russian military. Thank you very much for doing this and keeping him alive. Keep him alive, don’t kill him, don’t torture him. He’s an Australian, he did the wrong thing, he’s a mercenary.
“But we need him. We need him for a prisoner exchange deal.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin granted Boikov citizenship last year.
The video of Mr Jenkins’ interrogation showed him responding to questions in broken Ukrainian.
His inability to speak fluently appears to frustrate his Russian interrogator, who repeatedly swears at him and mocks him.
At one point, the Russian asks him: “Do you want to live?”
Mr Jenkins replies: “I want to help Ukraine.”
A Ukrainian security source has confirmed to NewsWire Mr Jenkins was fighting as part of the International Legion of Defence of Ukraine.
It is part of the Ukrainian defence forces and not a mercenary group.
The legion’s legality is ambiguous, made up largely by ex-soldiers and impassioned civilians from Ukraine’s Western allies.
Australia’s position has been especially murky.
Joining a foreign military is not illegal, but “entering or preparing to enter a foreign country to engage in a hostile activity” could get an Australian life behind bars, according to the Attorney-General’s Department.
The legion also blurs the lines of third country involvement in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
Most Western governments have advised their citizens against joining up but not actively blocked them from doing so.
‘Talented cricketer’
It is unclear how Mr Jenkins, a vegan activist working as a college lecturer in China, found his way to the front lines in eastern Ukraine.
From what can be scraped together from his online presence, he grew up in Melbourne’s inner city suburbs, where he is a member of the Toorak-Prahran Cricket Club.
Club president Neil Gumley told NewsWire Mr Jenkins was a “lovely kid”.
“He’s a loved member of the cricket club. He’s a talented cricketer,” Mr Gumley said.
“I coached him for several years. I knew him since he was a kid.”
He said the last time he saw Mr Jenkins was in February this year at a club reunion.
But Mr Gumley said Mr Jenkins gave no indication that he was preparing to go to Ukraine.
“We didn’t discuss any of that,” he said.
“I knew he was in China, but that was it.”
Indeed, Mr Jenkins moved to China as early as 2015, according to his LinkedIn and Instagram accounts.
A photo posted on his Instagram account in 2017 showed him completing a cross country run in Tai Tong in Hong Kong.
NewsWire confirmed the location using official photos of the event.
He worked for a Chinese property developer and then later as a college lecturer, his LinkedIn profile said.
In August 2023 he posted a video on YouTube titled “I will force Chinese people to be vegan”.
In the expletive-laden video he discussed his plan to wear a shirt protesting dairy milk, saying, “Everyone’s gonna think I’m a freak, even more than I already am.”
His LinkedIn profile picture also features a graphic with “Vegan Ukraine” superimposed on a map of the country.
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