Australian PM asks Russia to explain what happened to Australian prisoner of war

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australian Prime Minister Antoine Albanais said on Wednesday his government would take “the strongest possible action” if Russia injured an Australian taken prisoner while fighting for Ukraine.

A video posted on social media in December showed Oscar Jenkins, 32, dressed in a military uniform with his hands tied, being questioned and beaten by a Russian interrogator.

Australian authorities were seeking comment from Russia on reports the Melbourne teacher had been killed since becoming a prisoner of war.

Albanese said officials at Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade were seeking “urgent clarification” on Jenkins’ situation.

“We call on Russia to immediately confirm the status of Oscar Jenkins. We remain gravely concerned,” Albanese told reporters.

“We will wait until the facts are known. But if any harm was done to Oscar Jenkins, that is absolutely reprehensible. And the Australian government will take the strongest possible action,” Albanese added.

Jenkins had no military experience before joining the Ukrainian Defense Forces early last year. While other Australians were killed in action in Ukraine, none died in Russian captivity.

Albanese did not specify what steps Australia might take if Jenkins dies.

Zareh Ghazarian, a political scientist at Monash University, said Australia’s maximum response would likely be to expel the Russian ambassador, remove the Australian ambassador from Moscow and impose additional sanctions against the Russia.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton, who could become prime minister in elections scheduled for May 17, said the Russian and Australian ambassadors should be sent home if the Russians killed Jenkins.

“If there is confirmation that Oscar Jenkins has been killed, the government should take the strongest possible action and that is to say the ambassador should be removed and the ambassador here in Australia should be fired,” Dutton told reporters.

“We need to send a very clear message to Russia and other like-minded regimes that Australians are sacrosanct, that they deserve to be protected by their government and that if they suffer such harm or if they are brutally executed, as appears to be the case. “That is the suggestion in this case, and we are awaiting confirmation, so there should be a strong reaction from the Prime Minister,” Dutton added.

Australian military involvement in Ukraine involved training missions, but no Australian combat troops were involved in the war.

Australia was one of the most generous donors to the Ukraine war effort outside of NATO.

Three months ago, Australia announced that it would give Ukraine 49 of its aging M1A1 Abrams tanks valued at 245 million Australian dollars ($152 million).

These tanks brought the total value of Australian military assistance to Ukraine since the Russian invasion in 2022 to more than A$1.3 billion ($804 million).

Australian officials question Russian ambassador Alexei Pavlovsky about Jenkins in the Australian capital Canberra on Monday.

The Russian embassy responded to a request for comment Wednesday by referring The Associated Press to a news briefing given in Moscow by Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova on Dec. 25.

Zakharova said the ministry was “verifying information about the detained Australian citizen”, whom she described as a “mercenary”.

“We will definitely share all the facts, if there are any,” Zakharova said.

“In view of the current and global situation, captured foreign mercenaries will have to be held accountable. We regularly inform you about the crimes of mercenaries and their punishments in accordance with Russian legislation, especially when they are involved in atrocity acts against civilians,” she added.