6 hours Ago By Joseph Olbrycht-Palmer
Anthony Albanese is vowing to “always look after Australians” after Russian forces captured an Australian man fighting in Ukraine. Footage of 32-year-old Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins getting interrogated began circulating on pro-Russian social media channels on Sunday. In the video, Mr Jenkins is hit several times while his hands are tied.
The Prime Minister said on Monday 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,” Mr Albanese 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 shows Mr Jenkins 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.
The legion’s legality is ambiguous, made up largely by ex-soldiers and impassioned civilians from Ukraine’s Western allies. One person was killed and nine were injured in Russian missile attacks on the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv on the morning of Friday, December 20, mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said. Footage from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) shows people in the streets of Kyiv walking amid the smoke and emergency services working to extinguish a fire.
Klitschko said that 630 residential buildings, 16 medical facilities, 17 schools, and 13 kindergartens were left without heating after infrastructure was damaged in the attack. Credit: RFE/RL via Storyful Mr Jenkins was trophied about on social media as a Western mercenary, including by Australian-Russian Kremlin propagandist Simeon Boikov, known by his moniker Aussie Cossack. Boikov has been holed up in the Russian consulate in Sydney while on the run from police for assaulting an elderly man at a pro-Ukraine rally.
The video of Mr Jenkins came 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.
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