Russia Prisons Britons Accused Of Fighting For Ukraine In Kursk

Kursk, Russia/DOK TASS

JAKARTA - A Russian court jailed a British man for 19 years for being found guilty of fighting for Ukraine in the Kursk region of western Russia.

The court said James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was charged with terrorist and mercenaries in violations and was found guilty after a closed trial in which a Ukrainian soldier from the same unit was interrogated as a witness.

Anderson was sentenced to his first five years in prison and the rest in the colony, the court said.

Ukrainian troops broke through the border into the Kursk region on August 6, 2024, and still control some areas there seven months later, despite attempts by Russian troops to expel them.

Investigators accused Anderson of illegally crossing to Kursk in November as part of an armed group that committed "criminal acts against civilians" that were not specifically stated.

Russian state media published a video showing him handcuffed and locked in a cage like the place where the defendants in the Russian court case were placed.

After he was arrested, a pro-war Russian social media channel published an interrogation footage in which Anderson said he had served in British soldiers from 2019-2023 before deciding to join the foreign armed forces Ukrainian army, something he called a " stupid idea".