James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, is accused of being involved in the “armed formations of Ukraine, illegally crossed the State border of Russia and participating in hostilities in the Kursk region”
A former British solider captured by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine faces up to 25 years in a Russian prison.
James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, is accused of being involved in the “armed formations of Ukraine, illegally crossed the State border of Russia and participating in hostilities in the Kursk region”.
“By a ruling of the Leninsky District Court of Kursk of 25.11.2024, a preventive measure in the form of remand in custody was chosen in respect of James Scott Rhys Anderson, a citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a native of Banbury, Oxfordshire, who is suspected of committing a set of particularly serious offences that pose a particular danger to society,” said a statement. It is believed he has been remanded for two months initially.
Anderson is reported to have crawled out with “tears in his eyes” after his Ukrainian comrades were killed claimed Black Sea Fleet marines. His father had expressed the fear “he could be tortured.”
“He and another Ukrainian soldier were captured by marines of the 810th brigade of the Black Sea Fleet,” it was reported today. Caught in an encirclement, his comrades were wiped out, he crawled out with tears in his eyes and surrendered,” said the special forces Telegram channel Archangel of Spetsnaz.
The Russian Investigative Committee said Anderson was facing terrorism charges, with reports saying he faced between 15 and 25 years in jail if convicted. Anderson was remanded in custody by the Leninsky District Court of Kursk, said the statement. The investigation into the criminal case is continuing.
Anderson was shown during an interrogation video at one point with his eyes and hands taped. He identified himself as a former signalman and said he served in the British army from 2019 to 2023. He told his interrogators he was fired from the British army and then applied successfully to join Ukraine’s International Brigade. The reason he was allegedly fired is not made known.
He claims to have served in the 22nd Signal Regiment, a unit of the Royal Corps of Signals in the British Army, which provides cutting-edge communication and information systems support to the fighting force. Anderson said he had been with Ukrainian forces for four months and implied his role was to teach Ukrainians “how to shoot, how to…patrol, maybe evacuation”.
A leading Russian media commentator who appears to state propaganda TV, Vladimir Kornilov, mocked reports that Anderson’s father had expressed fears he would face torture, and that he had left the British army.
“They say he quit the British army before going to Ukraine,” said Kornilov. “Although we all know that they become ‘former’ immediately after being captured…
“Now the of this terrorist is whining loudly in an interview to British newspapers – we were trying to talk him out of it but he went [to Ukraine] out of a sense of duty, he felt sorry for Ukraine – [so] what was he doing in [Russia’s] Kursk region? And hopefully he won’t be tortured.”
