MOSCOW – Russia yesterday stated a British man captured fighting on Ukraine’s side in the Kursk region faces charges of “terrorism” and acting as a “mercenary”, punishable by decades in prison. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was captured in November while fighting with Ukrainian forces in Kursk, the western Russian border region where Kyiv began an incursion in August.
He is being held in custody in Russia.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said it had completed its inquiry, and established Anderson “took direct part in the armed conflict on Russian territory for material reward”.
He is charged with “committing a terrorist act” as part of an organised group causing “significant damage to property” and operating as a mercenary in an armed conflict.
The first charge carries a prison sentence of up to 20 years, the second an additional 15 years.
Investigators said Anderson “illegally” crossed the border into Russia while armed, and “committed criminal act against the peaceful population”, causing “significant harm to property” and “destabilising the activity of authorities”.
Anderson has spoken in several videos filmed by Russian officials after he was taken prisoner, appearing with his hands tied and in prison uniform with his head shaved.
In a video released by pro-Kremlin Telegram channels in November, he said he went to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after being sacked from the British army.
He told Russia’s Izvestia newspaper he was paid US$400 a month, and about US$60 a day while on combat missions.
Russia typically considers foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as “mercenaries”.
This 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.
British foreign minister David Lammy said in November his government would offer Anderson “all the support that we can”.
In 2022, a court in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine sentenced two British fighters to death for fighting for Ukraine, although they were later released in an exchange. – Nampa/AFP