Aussie soldier Oscar Jenkins may have been missing in Ukraine for months as comrade speaks
Australian officials are still trying to confirm the location of Oscar Jenkins, as an American who served alongside the Melbourne man in Ukraine breaks his silence. Warning: Graphic
Australian officials are still trying to confirm the location of Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins after disturbing video emerged of the former teacher being interrogated by Russian forces in Ukraine.
It comes amid reports that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was made aware of concerns for the 32-year-old’s welfare last month with those close to Mr Jenkins not knowing his whereabouts for months.
An American soldier who previously served alongside Mr Jenkins in Ukraine’s armed forces told the ABC his Australian comrade was a “damn good soldier”.
“He was very patriotic and he was the hell of a damn good soldier too … everything he did was to keep f---ing Ukrainians safe,” the man, who gave his name as Forrest, told ABC’s AM program.
Australian authorities have hauled in Russia’s ambassador to seek information about the wellbeing and whereabouts of Mr Jenkins after chilling footage showed the teacher-turned pro-Ukraine fighter being hit and taunted by a Russian captor.
Ambassador Alexey Pavlovsky was called into the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra on Monday afternoon as diplomats sought to urgently locate Mr Jenkins due to a video showing the 32-year-old Melbourne Grammar School graduate, who once played club cricket in the wealthy suburb of Toorak, being slapped and hit in the head 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 biology student, adding he had wanted to help Ukraine.
Mr Jenkins’ schoolmates were shocked at his reported capture, with one friend saying it was “awful to see an old school friend being held prisoner, seeing him in military clothing being detained is really disturbing”.
The friend said Mr Jenkins, who excelled at footy, cricket and athletics, had dropped off the radar when he moved to China in 2015.
Outside of school, Mr Jenkins had a long association with Toorak Prahran Cricket Club in Melbourne.
Club President Neil Gumley said he had not noticed anything amiss when Mr Jenkins had attended an event in February commemorating the side’s 2013/14 premiership.
“We had a reunion (and) he was in good spirits,” Mr Gumley said.
“It was fine, no issues there.”
The government’s Smart Traveller website states Australian law prohibits citizens from “engaging in hostile activities overseas unless they are serving in the armed forces of a foreign country”.
Any Australian who travels to Ukraine to fight with a non-government armed group on either side of the conflict, or who recruits another person to do so, is warned their activities “may amount to criminal offences”.
“Russian proxies have reportedly given foreign nationals extrajudicial death sentences for engaging in the war in Ukraine,” the Smart Traveller statement warned.
AUSSIE COSSACK CALLS FOR PRISONER SWAP DEAL
A Pro-Putin activist has thanked the Russian military for capturing an Australian in Ukraine but asked them not to kill the Melbourne teacher so they could do a prisoner swap deal.
Simeon Boikov, who has taken refuge inside the Russian embassy in Sydney for the past two years, posted his crude comment on Telegram about Oscar Jenkins in the hours after his capture.
Footage of Mr Jenkins, 32, being interrogated and slapped by his Russian captor, has been circulating on the social media platform Telegram.
In the video, Mr Jenkins, a former student of Melbourne Grammar, one of Victoria’s most elite schools, said he was a biology teacher who had joined the armed forces because he wanted to help Ukraine.
Boikov, in a video posted to his ‘the Aussie Cosack’ Telegram channel, said it was “excellent news’’ the Russian military had captured an “Australian mercenary’’ and volunteered himself to be in a swap for Oscar Jenkins.
“Now we have an Australian prisoner, finally,’’ Boikov posted.
Boikov said his Russian compatriots had been “hitting him a little bit, I can see on the video, but he’ll live because we need him. We can do a prisoner exchange deal.’’
“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 and guess what, I’m volunteering my candidacy....’’
“Literally it’s been two years and finally ... I think, I hope, I’m going to make it to Russia. Let’s do a deal Albanese, let’s get your Oscar Jenkins back...
“He went to Melbourne Grammar School, he went to Monash University, he’s from Melbourne, he’s from Victoria, we should bring him home. He shouldn’t have been in Ukraine, but he will not be killed, he will not be tortured, he will be put on to a list of prisoner exchange and Australia we can do this, let’s do this.’’
Boikov, who has had a warrant issued for his arrest over the assault of a 76-year-old man at a rally in support of Ukraine at Sydney’s Town Hall in 2022, said he had been in contact with his lawyer to attempt to make an arrangement with the federal government.
Boikov then raised his fist and 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.’’
A friend of the Jenkins’ family said they were living through a ``nightmare’’.
``They’re a beautiful family and they’re all very concerned. It’s a nightmare,’’ the friend said.
``They want him home safe.’’
It has also been suggested that Mr Jenkins began ``slipping away’’ from having regular contact with his family several years ago.
It is also believed the avid cricketer raised issues with using a leather cricket ball due to his Veganism.
A Russian propaganda news site stated Mr Jenkins was fighting with a Ukranian unit in Kramatorsk, near the Ukranian-Russian frontline, 700km east of Kyiv.nHe was captured nearby.
Defence analyst and University of NSW adjunct fellow Jennifer Parker said if Mr Jenkins had joined the Ukranian forces, as most Australians who had gone to fight in the region had, he could not be classified as a mercenary.
Ms Parker said mercenaries have limited protection under international humanitarian law and therefore they do not have the rights of a prisoner of war or combatant.
Australia has also lost track of the number of its citizens fighting in the region.
Estimates of the number of Australians who have joined the war have ranged between dozens to about 200 Australians.
Reporting on Australians who have joined the Russian forces is near to non-existent.
Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus urged the Russian Government to adhere to international humanitarian laws on Monday afternoon as they sought to find out where Mr Jenkins had been taken.
“The Australian Government is making representations to the Russian Government,’’ he said.
“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.
“We are providing consular support to Mr Jenkins’ family.
“I reiterate, the government’s clear advice to all Australians – do not travel to the Ukraine.’’
DISTURBING FOOTAGE OF AUSSIE SOLDIER
The Russian video shows Mr Jenkins being interrogated after his capture in Donbas and telling his captors he lives in both Australia and Ukraine.
Standing with his hands tied behind his back, Mr Jenkins spoke in English and broken Ukrainian.
“Where are you from?” the Russian speaking man asked in the video.
Unable to understand the question, Mr Jenkins looked confused before he was slapped by his captor.
“F*** speaker faster,” the man said.
When his captor asked his nationality, he replied: “I’m Australian.”
When asked what his job was, Mr Jenkins said he was a teacher.
“You’re a teacher,” the captor said. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m a soldier,” Mr Jenkins replied before being slapped in the head again.
“I am from China … I have been studying for nine years. I am an Australian student. I study biology,” he continued, before adding that he wanted to help Ukraine.
Mr Jenkins is believed to have moved to China in 2015 where he worked as a lecturer at Tianjin college.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that the Australian embassy in Moscow was trying to figure out the facts about Mr Jenkins’s wellbeing and whereabouts.
“This is concerning news and we’re working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade,” he said.
“We know that the Russians often put out information that isn’t right.
“We always look after Australians ... we will make those representations.”
Assistant Defence Minister Matt Thistlethwaite told Sky News that Australian authorities were making inquiries.
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