James Anderson, 22, from Banbury, is seen threatening to shoot the Russian soldiers in newly-released footage taken from his body armour camera moments before he was captured
Ukraine: British mercenary captured by Russian fighters in Kursk
New footage shows the dramatic moment a British man fighting for Ukraine is surrounded by Russian troops – and threatens to shoot them.
Captured fighter James Anderson, 22, from Banbury, is seen resisting moments before he surrenders to Putin’s forces in the newly-released footage from his body armour camera. He was sentenced by a Russian court this month to 19 years in prison for “terror and mercenary offences” following a sham trial condemned by the UK Foreign Office. In the clip from November, Mr Anderson and his comrades are ambushed by Russian troops attempting to push back Ukrainian troops in Kursk region.
As he spots the heavily armed Russian troops approaching, the former British Army man threatens: “I’m gonna f*****g shoot them.” He is ordered by his captors “Put your machine gun down, put it down!”, before a voice shouts: “Get down, lie down! Down! Lie down!”
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Anderson admits there are two grenades on him, and he is disarmed. A Russian voice said: “Keep him at gunpoint! Get down on your back!”
The British man, reported to be a mercenary, then tells the Russian Black Sea marines that some part of his military kit is American. A Russian says: “Take his armoured vest off. Hold his hand.” He is then is ordered: “Hold still, give me your hands.”
The 22-year-old, who had earlier been paraded on Putin’s propaganda TV, was jailed this month by closed ‘kangaroo court’ which flouted international law. Despite being a prisoner of war, and therefore immune from civilian prosecution, was sentenced to serve the first five years of his term in a harsh prison and the remainder in a bleak penal colony.
He was accused of unspecified “criminal acts against civilians.” Commenting on his case, the Foreign Office said: “We strongly condemn the sentencing of James Anderson, a British national, in a Russian court on false charges.
“Under international law, Prisoners of War cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities. We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using Prisoners of War for political and propaganda purposes. We remain in close contact with Mr Anderson’s family and are providing consular support.”
A Telegram account for the United press service of the judicial system of the Kursk region said he was accused under the terrorist act of the Russian criminal code, and of “mercenarism” after serving alongside Ukrainian troops fighting Vladimir Putin’s invasion. A translated release from the account said the court was considering a “criminal case against 22-year-old citizen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland James Scott Rhys Anderson on charges of committing particularly serious crimes in the Kursk region”.
In a statement likely taken under duress, Mr Anderson had told Russian state news agency RIA Novosti that it was wrong for Ukraine to invade Russia’s Kursk region, where he surrendered. “We shouldn’t be here – the Russians really don’t want us here” he said.
A marine commander had earlier told Russian state TV of the moment Anderson was caught. He said: “There was a foreign man organising the battle, then we found out it was a Briton.
“We just came up and said, surrender lads, you’re surrounded. The Briton immediately threw down his foreign machine gun.”
