PM and Zelensky to discuss Oscar Jenkins’s fate after Australian sentenced by Russian invaders

Anthony Albanese is expected to raise the fate of Oscar Jenkins when he meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of Pope Leo XIV’s inauguration mass.

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

Anthony Albanese is expected to raise the fate of Oscar Jenkins when he meets Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on the sidelines of the Pope’s inauguration mass, after the Australian soldier was handed a 13-year prison sentence.

Amid widespread condemnation of the sentence handed to Mr Jenkins for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces against the Russian invasion, the Prime Minister was anticipated to raise options for the soldier’s release with Mr Zelensky in Rome.

Environment Minister Murray Watt on Sunday branded the Russian criminal trial that convicted Mr Jenkins of being a mercenary as a “sham”, asserting that the former Melbourne school teacher should be treated as a prisoner of war.

Senator Watt said he expected Mr Albanese would likely raise concerns for Mr Jenkins later on Sunday during an anticipated meeting with Mr Zelensky.

“This is an appalling decision from Russia, and another outrage in a long line of outrages when it comes to matters involving Ukraine,” he told Sky News.

“We are appalled by this decision from Russia. We consider this a sham trial, and we don’t accept Mr Jenkins should be treated this way.”

Senator Watt said the government would push for Mr Jenkins’s “release and for his welfare”.

“In our view, he should be treated as a prisoner of war,” he said. “He was a member of the Ukraine defence forces, and prisoners of war are entitled to humane treatment under inter­national humanitarian law.

“We’ll continue advocating for his release and for his welfare, and I’m sure Prime Minister Albanese will be taking that up with the Ukrainian president.”

Mr Albanese on Saturday branded the harsh sentence, which would see Mr Jenkins serve 13 years in a maximum-­security strict regime penal colony, as an “outrage” and vowed to advocate for the Australian.

“We don’t believe that this is a legitimate decision by a legal process in Russia, that is very politicised as we know,” Mr Albanese told reporters in Rome.

He said he was trying to “nut out” the timing for a meeting with Mr Zelensky.

Jenkins was found guilty of being a mercenary by a Russian-controlled court in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, following claims he had been paid up to $15,000 a month to fight for Ukraine.

The conviction means Mr Jenkins is not entitled to protections granted to prisoners of war.

He was captured in December, with footage of him being slapped by a Russian soldier and interrogated about his background.

Foreign Minster Penny Wong condemned the “sham trial” that delivered the sentence.

“The Australian government has made clear to Russia that Mr Jenkins must be given the protections afforded to him as a prisoner of war,” she said.