James Scott Rhys Anderson’s father Scott, 41, said he and other family members had begged his son not to go to Ukraine – but the 22-year-old couldn’t be dissuaded
The father of a British prisoner of war who was captured by Russia says “he had fallen in love with a Ukrainian girl” and revealed that his family begged him not to go to the frontline.
James Scott Rhys Anderson, a British mercenary fighting for Ukraine inside Russia, has been taken prisoner by Vladimir Putin’s forces. The 22-year-old former signalman was detained in the Ukrainian-occupied Kursk region of Russia, according to the Kremlin media.
In a chilling interrogation video, he said he served in the British Army for four years before being fired and applying to join Ukraine’s International Brigade as a mercenary. Now, his father Scott Anderson, 41, said he and other family members had begged his son not to go to Ukraine.
However, he said James couldn’t be dissuaded as he “thought what he was doing was right.” He also added that James has fallen in love with a girl from Ukraine that he met while in the country – and added he was due to return home for Christmas in a few weeks’ time.
The father-of-four told the Daily Mail: “We spoke on WhatsApp almost every day until he went on his most recent operation. He was acting as a signalman. James last came home only a month and a half ago. He said his Ukrainian commander had made a promise that he’d contact me if he was ever killed or captured.
“When he called me and sent the video I was in complete shock and in tears. I could see straight away it was him. He looks frightened, scared and worried. I didn’t want him to go. I did try to persuade him not to go – my whole family tried to persuade him.
“He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right. He was dead against what was happening to the Ukrainian people. Since he went out earlier this year, he’s fallen in love with a Ukrainian although I don’t know her name.”
In the interrogation video, James said: “James Scott Rhys Anderson, 24 May 2002. I was British Army before, 2019 to 2023. 22 Signal Regiment, just a private. I was a signalman. 1 Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment. 252 Squadron.
“Okay – so when I left, got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion [of Ukraine] webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job. My dad was away in prison. I see it on the TV. It’s a stupid idea.
“I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border [and then to Ukraine].” A Russian military source told state-controlled TASS news agency: “A mercenary from Britain has been taken prisoner in the Kursk region.”
A Russian report said: “Overall, the footage will be useful and will be able to tell a lot of interesting things about communications and its structure in the British army.” A FCDO spokesperson said: “We are supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention.”
Ukraine holds several hundred square kilometres of Russia’s Kursk region, but Putin’s forces are gradually pushing them back. North Korean troops sent to help Putin have been deployed in this region.
