Russian forces took over. A former British Army soldier who was fighting alongside Ukrainian troops in the Kursk region has died, according to reports on Monday.
In one video, the prisoner of war sat with his hands on a bench as he identified himself as 22-year-old James Scott Rice Anderson.
Russian security officials have confirmed that a British mercenary has been captured in the Kursk region, Russia’s Tass news agency reported on Monday.
“I was in the British Army before that, from 2019 to 2023, in the 22 Signal Regiment. “Just a Pvt. I was a signalman. A Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron.”
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Former British Army soldier James Scott Rhys Anderson was allegedly captured by Russian forces in the Kursk region while fighting for Ukraine. (Credit: East2West)
He lamented joining Ukraine in the war against Russia, explaining that he had lost almost everything.
When he left the army, he was fired and applied for it. International Legion (of Ukraine) web page
“I just lost everything. I just lost my job. My dad was in jail. I see him on TV,” Anderson said, shaking his head. “That was a stupid idea.”
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Former British Army soldier James Scott Rhys Anderson was allegedly captured by Russian forces in the Kursk region while fighting for Ukraine. (Credit: East2West)
The International Legion for Defense of Ukraine was formed in February 2022 at the request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky following Russia’s all-out invasion of the country.
The Legion is a unit of Ukraine’s ground forces composed primarily of foreign volunteers, the Associated Press reported.
Anderson allegedly served as an instructor for Ukrainian troops and was deployed against his will to the Kursk region.
In the video, he said his commander took his belongings — passport, phone and other things — and ordered him to the Kursk region.
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FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian soldiers take cover from shelling during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, near the Russian border, in the Somy region of Ukraine on August 13, 2024. (REUTERS/Viacheslav Ratynskyi/File Photo)
“I don’t want to be here,” Anderson said.
The AP could not independently verify the report, but if confirmed, it says it could be the first publicly known case of a Westerner being detained on Russian soil. . Fighting for Ukraine..
Britain’s embassy in Moscow said wire officials were “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”, although no further details were provided.
Anderson’s father, Scott Anderson, told the British newspaper Daily Mail that his son’s Ukrainian commander told him the teenager had been captured.
A serviceman from the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine named after King Danylo front-line a 2s5 “Hyacinth-s” self-propelled howitzer near Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. but is firing at Russian soldiers. , Ukraine 18 November 2024. (Oleg Petrasyuk/Press Service of the 24th King Danilo Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine/Handout via REUTERS)
The senior Anderson also said his son served in the British Army for four years, worked as a police detention officer, and then went to fight in Ukraine. She told the newspaper that she tried to convince her son not to join the Ukrainian army, and now fears for his safety.
“I am hoping that he will be used as a bargaining chip, but my son told me that they torture their prisoners, and I am very afraid that he will be tortured,” he said. told Britain’s Daily Mail.
During questioning, the younger Anderson spoke about how he got to Ukraine from the UK, saying he had traveled from London Luton to Krakow, Poland. From there, they took a bus to the Polish city of Medica, which is on the border with Ukraine.
Anderson’s arrest comes amid reports that Russia is recruiting hundreds of Yemeni men to fight in Ukraine under false pretenses in coordination with the Houthi terrorist network, as As reported by the Financial Times.
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A senior Ukrainian defense official told Fox News that Moscow is trying to enlist as many foreign mercenaries as possible in its war against Ukraine, whether from its allies or proxies in poor, impoverished countries.
Ukraine’s Defense Ministry similarly confirmed the report to Fox News, saying, “The Russians[a] Recently this war has escalated twice. First, when they brought North Korean fighters, and second, when they used [a] Ballistic Missiles in Ukraine.”
Caitlin McFall and Nana Sajia of Fox News Digital, as well as The Associated Press, contributed to this report.