Russia captures UK national fighting alongside Ukraine in the Kursk region, report says

The Russian military have captured a British national fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in Russia’s partially occupied Kursk region, state news agency Tass reported yesterday, citing unidentified sources in law enforcement.

The man was identified by Tass and other media as James Scott Rhys Anderson. Tass quoted him as saying that he had served as a signalman in the British army for four years and then joined the International Legion of Ukraine, formed early on in Russia’s nearly 3-year-old war against its neighbor.

In Ukraine, Anderson reportedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed to the Kursk region against his will. Tass published a video of the man saying in English that he doesn’t want to be “here.”

The report couldn’t be independently verified, but if confirmed it could be one of the first publicly known case of a Western national captured on Russian soil while fighting for Ukraine.

The U.K. Embassy in Moscow said officials were “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention” but provided no further details.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The soldier’s father, Scott Anderson, told Britain’s Daily Mail newspaper that his son’s Ukrainian commander had informed him that the young man had been captured.

Scott Anderson said his son had served in the British military for four years, then briefly worked as a police custody officer before going to Ukraine to fight. He said he tried to convince his son not to join the Ukrainian military, and now he fears for his safety.

“I’m hoping he’ll be used as a bargaining chip, but my son told me they torture their prisoners and I’m so frightened he’ll be tortured,” he told the newspaper.

The UK Foreign Office said it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention.’’ MDT/AP