Russia confirms detaining Briton fighting for Ukraine

Russia said on Tuesday it had detained a British man it captured fighting for Ukraine in Kyiv’s offensive into Russia’s western Kursk region.

A court in the region said it had on Monday ordered James Scott Rhys Anderson be remanded in custody, alleging he had “participated in armed hostilities on the territory of the Kursk region”.

It was the first official confirmation from Russia of Anderson’s arrest, following a video that was published on pro-Kremlin Telegram channels over the weekend that showed a man, who appeared to have his hands tied, identify himself as James Anderson.

In the video, which could not be verified, the man said he joined the Ukrainian army after being dismissed from the British army in 2023.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday that London had been “updated about that development” and would “offer this UK national all the support we can.”

Under pressure on its eastern front, Kyiv launched a shock offensive into Russia’s Kursk border region in August, capturing dozens of settlements and still holding a chunk of territory there.

Many foreign fighters have flocked to Ukraine to help it fight off Russia’s full-scale military offensive.

The Leninsky court in Kursk said Anderson was suspected of “committing a set of particularly serious offences that post a danger to society.”

It accused him of being “a member of Ukraine’s armed formations” and of “illegally crossing Russia’s state border and participating in armed hostilities.”

But the court did not specify what he had been specifically charged with or how long it had ordered him detained.

Russia typically considers foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as “mercenaries.”

Such a classification enables Moscow to prosecute them under its criminal code, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention.

In 2022, a court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced two British fighters to death for fighting for Ukraine, though they were later released in an exchange.