Australia will continue to petition Russia for POW's release, PM says
Australia will continue to petition Russia for the release of Oscar Jenkins, an Australian citizen captured while fighting on the side of Ukraine, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on April 19.
“We’ll continue to make representations to the reprehensible regime of (Russian President) Vladimir Putin on behalf of Mr Jenkins,” Albanese told 9News.
“We will stand up and use whatever avenues we have at our disposal to continue to make those representations. The Russian war against the people of Ukraine is a war against international law, it’s against international sovereignty."
Jenkins disappeared on Dec. 16, 2024, during a combat operation near the village of Mykolaivka, in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk Oblast. At the time, he was deployed with the 402nd Separate Rifle Battalion, a unit within Ukraine’s 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade.
In the weeks that followed, unconfirmed reports began to surface, alleging that he had been executed while in Russian captivity. The claims prompted Australian officials to seek clarification from Moscow regarding his status.
On Feb. 8, a video uploaded to YouTube appeared to show Jenkins alive but visibly injured.
Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, has said that Jenkins should be treated as a prisoner of war just like Ukrainian citizens fighting for their country, and that he should be realeased in a prisoner exchange.
"(Jenkins) has an official contract with the Ukrainian armed forces, so he must be treated as a prisoner of war, but Russia does not really care about international law,” Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine’s ambassador to Australia, told Nine News.
The Geneva Conventions require all parties to armed conflict to treat prisoners of war with respect and dignity. However, Russia is reported to have executed a number of POWs.
Kyiv’s repatriation efforts have predominantly centered on the return of Ukrainian soldiers, leaving foreign fighters who serve in Ukraine’s military in a particularly vulnerable position should they be captured by Russian forces.
Belarusian soldier Vasyl Verameichyk, who had been fighting for Ukraine, was detained by Belarusian security services while on holiday in Vietnam. He is now reportedly being held in custody in Belarus.
Fellow Belarusian volunteers have repeatedly appealed to Ukrainian authorities to press for his release, but there has been no indication of progress.
The Kyiv IndependentKate Tsurkan