Russian forces capture UK citizen fighting for Ukraine, reports claim

A British former soldier has reportedly been captured by Russian forces as he fought alongside Ukraine in Russia's Kursk region, Russian state media claimed on Monday.

The man was identified as James Scott Rhys Anderson, a former signalman in the British army for four years before joining the International Legion of Ukraine as a volunteer fighter.

In a widely circulated Telegram video allegedly showing Anderson, a man dressed in combat fatigues shares details about himself sitting in a chair with his hands tied behind his back.

“It was a stupid idea,” the man said of his decision to travel to Ukraine after seeing war reports on television.

The report, which has not yet been independently verified, would mark the first publicly known case of a Western national captured on Russian soil fighting for Ukraine.

Anderson's father told UK tabloid The Daily Mail that he was informed of his son's capture by his Ukrainian commander.

Scott Anderson said he tried to convince his son not to join the Ukrainian military and that 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 said.

The UK Foreign Office said it was supporting the family of a British man "following reports of detention," although it did not explicitly confirm Anderson's arrest.

Ukraine's foreign volunteers

Thousands of people from across the world travelled to help Ukraine fight its war against Russia after Moscow's full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Most joined the International Legion for Defence of Ukraine, but some foreign volunteers were also deployed to other units of Ukraine's army.

Early in the war, Ukraine’s authorities said over 20,000 people from 52 countries came to Ukraine to help it defend itself against Russia's aggression. Since then, Ukraine has not released official figures on the number of foreign fighters.

In 2022, British national Shaun Pinner was captured in the besieged city of Mariupol as he fought alongside Ukrainian troops.

He was sentenced to death during a show trial in the Kremlin-controlled self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic but was eventually freed in a prisoner exchange.