By defence correspondent Andrew Greene and political reporter Maani Truu, ABC
The Australian government has expressed concerns about the fate of Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins. Photo: Telegram screenshot
Australian officials are launching an urgent investigation after video emerged on social media of a Melbourne man who appears to have been captured by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The footage shows a man with his hands tied and dirt across his face being hit across the head as an unseen person questions him in Russian.
In response, the man identifies himself as 32-year-old Oscar Jenkins and, speaking in both English and Ukrainian, says he is a biology teacher who lives in Australia and Ukraine.
He was asked about why he was in Kramatorsk - almost 700 kilometres east of Kyiv - and if he was being paid to fight.
The video was first posted by pro-Moscow Russian Telegram channels on Sunday and the ABC has since independently verified Jenkins' identity.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Monday that the video was "concerning" and that the Australian embassy in Moscow and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) were investigating it.
"We are working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide support including for this gentleman, trying to ascertain the details and the facts," he said.
"We know that the Russians often put out information that isn't right, so our embassy in Moscow is working but in addition to that Foreign Affairs and Trade are working here as well."
Australia's Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is trying to support Oscar Jenkins. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Unclear how many Australians fighting in Ukraine
Jenkins grew up in Melbourne, where he attended the prestigious Melbourne Grammar School.
According to his LinkedIn, he is currently a lecturer at Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in China, where he has worked since 2017.
It is unclear when he left China and arrived in Ukraine.
He is also a "much loved" member of the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club. President Neil Gumley told the ABC Jenkins was a "very talented junior" who rose through the ranks to be a premiership player.
"Our thoughts at this stage are very much with his family and friends," he said.
In a short video posted to a YouTube channel that appears to be owned by Jenkins, titled "I will force Chinese people to be vegan," he said: "The only people who are friends with me are vegans, if you're not vegan and you're my friend you're going to be vegan soon or we are going to fight."
Several Australians have been killed fighting in Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion in 2022 and it is unclear how many more Australians remain on the front line.
Retired army general Gus McLachlan said the Russians were likely monitoring communication between Ukrainian soldiers and listening for English so they could target foreigners.
"They will be seeking to either kill or capture these soldiers ... with [the] specific purpose of using them to convince the world that they are dominating," he told the ABC.
"We also know that, of course, Ukraine and other countries then are willing to make additional concessions to get those soldiers back in prison exchanges."
Australian pro-Kremlin propagandist Simeon Boikov - known by his online moniker Aussie Cossack - has reposted the apparent hostage video, stating that he should be part of a prisoner swap deal.
He is the leader of the Australian Cossacks, which styles itself as a military unit, and is holed up in the Russian consulate in Sydney to avoid an arrest warrant for an alleged assault.
The government is continuing to urge Australians not to travel to Ukraine or to join the war effort against Russia's invasion and the Smart Traveller advice level remains at "do not travel".
The ABC has contacted DFAT for comment.
-ABC
