The Russian side has not handed over the body of Australian volunteer Oscar Jenkins to Ukraine. The Command of the Ground Forces told Slidstvo.Info that Oscar was captured in Luhansk Oblast and has been classified as a prisoner of war since December 16. Earlier, some media outlets and Telegram channels circulated a video showing the bodies of soldiers, allegedly including Oscar. However, Slidstvo.Info journalists verified the video and determined that it was originally published four years ago on an Iranian website. The video description indicated that the events took place in Nagorno-Karabakh, Slidstvo.Info reports.
“THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO YOU, AUSTRALIAN F**KING MERCS”
On January 15, some foreign media spread information that the Russian military could have tortured Australian volunteer Oscar Jenkins, who fought for Ukraine. The reports cited the words of Jenkins’ brothers-in-arms who had apparently seen his body.
- Oscar Jenkins in captivity / Photo from Russian social media
- Oscar Jenkins in captivity / Photo from Russian social media
“Oscar’s body was discovered by my friend’s sister squad. It appears that they were executed,” ABC News quoted one of the foreign fighters who is currently in Ukraine as saying.
Another fellow Australian volunteer with the call sign “Gump” told Zmina that Oscar Jenkins was with four other soldiers during the clash with the Russians. Gump claims that Jenkins was taken prisoner, tortured, and then executed.
In a comment to Slidstvo.Info, Ambassador of Ukraine to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko noted that the news of Oscar Jenkins’ possible execution had gained considerable traction in Australia, with all the local media writing about it.
“On Wednesday and Thursday, my phone was ringing off the hook with requests for comments. The prime minister was asked about the Australian government’s reaction if this information is confirmed, and the foreign minister was also questioned about Oscar,” said Ambassador Vasyl Myroshnychenko.
After reports of the Australian’s possible death, Australia summoned the Russian ambassador for explanations. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also held a press conference, where he said that his government was “seeking urgent clarification” on the situation, adding that it was “gravely concerned.”
“If there has been any harm caused to Oscar Jenkins, that is absolutely reprehensible. And the Australian government will take the strongest action possible,” the official said.
The Slidstvo.Info journalists talked to another colleague of Oscar Jenkins, who wished to remain anonymous. Slidstvo.info managed to verify his identity and received confirmation that the interlocutor really serves in the same unit as Oscar Jenkins. The man is convinced that the Australian volunteer was killed by Russians. He sent a video to the Slidstvo.info journalist of the bodies of soldiers in the back of a truck, where Russian is spoken: “This is what will happen to you, Australian f**king mercs, f**king w**kers. We’ll f**king kill you all, f**kers.”
A video of the bodies in the back of the vehicle was also posted on the Telegram channel of journalist Andriy Tsaplienko on January 15.
“THERE HAS BEEN NO TRANSFER OF THE BODY”
Slidstvo.Info journalists used OSINT analysis to find out that an identical video, but without Russian voice acting, was published 4 years ago on an Iranian service for free video viewing and sharing. The author of the video signed it as “The Price of Karabakh” and added the hashtags “Karabakh”, “war”, “soldiers”, “corpses”. The captions to the video are in Farsi. In addition, the original video contains Armenian language. The man holding the camera says: “These are all wounded. Wounded by debris…”.
Oscar Jenkins is serving in the 402nd Separate Rifle Battalion, which is part of the 66th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The Command of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, to which this brigade belongs, told Slidstvo.Info that Jenkins had signed a contract to serve in the Armed Forces of Ukraine on April 4, 2024. On December 16, 2024, he went missing while performing a combat mission near Mykolayivka in Luhansk Oblast. On the same day, his name was added to the list of soldiers held in Russian captivity.
On December 22, Russian milblogger and propagandist Alexander Sladkov published a video of Russian soldiers interrogating Australian volunteer Oscar Jenkins. The Russians beat the prisoner after he fails to understand Russian, and Jenkins’ hands are tightly bound. The captive says that he is 32 years old and a biology teacher by profession, and a soldier in the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
“I hope the guy will be okay, he’ll have a trial, hard labor, everything as it should be. I can understand captured Ukrainians. But what is this one doing here?” milblogger Alexander Sladkov commented.
As of now, Oscar Jenkins has the status of a prisoner of war. The Ground Forces told Slidstvo.Info: “There has been no transfer of the body [of Oscar Jenkins].” At the same time, the Office of the Prosecutor General noted that they had no confirmation of the death of the Australian volunteer. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War says they are not commenting on this issue at this time.
The Slidstvo.Info journalists also sent a request to the Australian Embassy in Ukraine to confirm or deny Jenkins’ death in Russian captivity. Slidstvo.info will update this story as soon as it receives a response letter.
On the evening of January 16, Russian milblogger Alexander Sladkov, who published a video of the interrogation of the captured Australian, wrote the following in his Telegram channel: “The ‘civilized world’ is worried about the fate of an Australian who came to Donbas to kill Russians. (…) And this Australian ‘nerd’ had his diaper changed, was fed, and taken to Russia. His life was saved on the battlefield, and after his actions against Russia are established, he will serve his time, if not life, and return to his home in Australia.”
Simeon Boikov, a Russian propagandist living in Australia, also shared this information.
COULD THE INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXECUTION BE PART OF THE RUSSIAN PSYOPS?
In a comment for Zmina, Oscar Jenkins’ fellow soldier with the callsign “Gump”, claims that the Russian military has a new rule: if foreigners are captured, they are executed for show.
“The Russians don’t take prisoners of war anymore,” Gump said.
Ukrainian Ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko does not rule out that the information about the execution of Australian volunteer Oscar Jenkins could be a special information operation. Its purpose is to intimidate representatives of foreign countries so that they do not go to fight for Ukraine.
Oscar Jenkins’ whereabouts are currently unknown. Although propagandists claim that the Australian soldier is alive, Russia has not provided any evidence of this.
According to the Australian media outlet ABC, at least seven Australians have been killed on the battlefield during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.