‘All options on the table’ after reports of Australian’s death at Russia’s hands

Foreign Minister Penny Wong says all options will be on the table, including expelling Russia’s ambassador to Australia, if it is confirmed that Russian soldiers killed Oscar Jenkins, a Melbourne man who was captured while fighting for Ukraine.

Wong said that the government held “grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare” and was “making urgent inquiries following the reports of his death”.

Oscar Jenkins, pictured (left) playing for Toorak Prahran Cricket Club, was captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine (right).

7News cited Ukrainian sources in a report on Tuesday who said Jenkins’ body had been found. Jenkins, a former teacher, had been fighting with Ukraine against Russian President Vladimir Putin’s illegal invasion of the democratic country.

Wong said she was thinking of Jenkins’ family in Australia, telling ABC radio on Wednesday morning: “They’ve lived with the fear and uncertainty of a loved one in the middle of a foreign war for many months. I know these reports will be devastating to them, and they are in my thoughts and, I’m sure, the thoughts of many Australians.”

Asked whether Australia could expel Russia’s ambassador to Australia, Alexey Pavlovsky, Wong said that “all options are on the table”.

“Russia is obliged to treat all prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law,” she said. “This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) said the department was providing consular support to Jenkins’ family.

“His family has requested privacy, and we ask that media respect their wishes,” the spokesperson said.

Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, told the ABC that Moscow’s forces do “not adhere to any conventions, including those regarding the treatment of prisoners of war”.

“Russia has a deep-seated hatred of these foreigners, like Mr Jenkins; people who have made the responsible choice to stand up for the rule of law and freedom by supporting Ukraine,” he said.

Opposition foreign affairs spokesman Simon Birmingham said the federal government should recall Australia’s ambassador to Russia and expel Russia’s ambassador to Australia if Russian forces had killed Jenkins.

“If reports are true that Russia undertook an extrajudicial execution of a captured Australian citizen, then the Albanese government should respond in the strongest possible terms,” Birmingham said.

“Three years ago, the then-Labor opposition urged Russian diplomatic expulsions, yet in government, Labor have undertaken no such action. If Russia has engaged in such an egregious and illegal action, then it must now be a catalyst for action.

“Nothing less than the recalling of Australia’s ambassador to Russia and expulsion of Russia’s ambassador to Australia would be sufficient in such circumstances.”

Jenkins’ plight first came to light when footage began circulating online on December 22, showing him 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.

It was unclear how long Jenkins, who left Australia to teach and travel in China in 2015, had been fighting with Ukrainian forces. He was the first Australian known to have been captured by Russia.

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

Friends with whom he played cricket at the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club described him as having “a heart of gold”, saying he was well-liked, kind, generous, academic and a deep thinker. “He’s your typical Aussie cricket boy – he helped us win that premiership. He’s maybe a bit smarter than average, more deep-thinking. Thoughtful.”

Jenkins’ late father, Scott, was a dentist and also a member of the club, with which the Jenkins family maintained a close association.

At least eight Australians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including Victorian man Joel Benjamin Stremski, and Queenslanders Brock Greenwood and Matthew Jepson, who died while holding off Russian troops in the country’s east in October. Dozens of Australians are believed to still be fighting, often paid as part of the foreign legion.

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