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Australia would take “the strongest action possible”, including potentially expelling Russia’s ambassador, Anthony Albanese has warned, as the federal government scrambles to verify reports that Melbourne man Oscar Jenkins had been killed after being captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine.
Albanese said on Wednesday that any harm to Jenkins would be “absolutely reprehensible”, and demanded Moscow immediately confirm the condition of the 32-year-old Australian citizen, after reports overnight that he had died.
“We’ve called in the Russian ambassador already. We’re seeking clarification as to whether… any harm has occurred to Mr Jenkins, and we’ll take the strongest possible action if it is the case that any harm has been caused to him,” he told a press conference in Tasmania.
“We remain gravely concerned. We’ll await the facts to come out. But, if there has been any harm caused to Oscar Jenkins, that’s absolutely reprehensible.”
Senior members of the Coalition opposition have called for Russia’s ambassador to be expelled and Australia’s ambassador to Moscow to be recalled.
Foreign minister Penny Wong said the government was considering all options, with expelling the ambassador “on the table”.
Jenkins, a teacher from Melbourne, was serving alongside Ukraine’s armed forces when he was reportedly captured by Russian soldiers last year as a prisoner of war. A video taken at the time showed him, dressed in military fatigues, speaking English and Ukrainian, confirming his name and nationality, and being asked if he was a mercenary. The Ukrainian embassy in Australia says Jenkins was enlisted in the country’s defence force.
The Australian government said late on Tuesday it was “making urgent inquiries following reports of Oscar Jenkins’ death”, after a report by 7 News that he had died.
International humanitarian law protects soldiers taken prisoners of war. The Third Geneva convention states all prisoners of war must be treated humanely and are to be protected from acts of violence or intimidation.
Albanese said the government was still seeking information, and would determine its response once it had more facts.
“My thoughts are with Mr Jenkins’ family. They’ve lived with a fear and uncertainty of a loved one in the middle of a foreign war for many months,” Wong told ABC radio on Wednesday.
“I know these reports will be devastating to them, and they are in my thoughts and I’m sure the thoughts of many Australians.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said in a statement on Tuesday: “These reports have not been verified but we continue to have grave concerns for Mr Jenkins’ welfare.”
Dfat was contacted for further update on Wednesday morning.
Coalition frontbenchers Simon Birmingham and Sussan Ley called for Russia’s ambassador to be expelled from Canberra, if the reports were found to be true.
“If Oscar Jenkins is being mistreated, if he has in fact been killed, this is unacceptable,” Ley, the deputy opposition leader, told Sky News on Wednesday. “This is a war crime and Anthony Albanese and his government need to get to the bottom of this immediately.
“The Russian ambassador needs to be called in today and, if indeed these reports are correct, the ambassador should be hauled in and shipped out.”
Wong told the ABC the government was still working to verify the reports and stressed that Russia was “obliged to treat all prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law”.
“This includes humane treatment and the right to a fair trial,” she said. “So that is their obligation [and] we will look at the facts when they have been ascertained.”
“But I want to be clear, all options are on the table. Those options include expelling the ambassador and recalling Australia’s ambassador in Russia … I need, as the foreign minister, to identify and ascertain the facts beforehand.”
A Dfat spokesperson said on Tuesday night the government had summoned the Russian ambassador on Monday, before reports of Jenkins’ death, to seek information “and reiterate Australia’s expectations that Russia will comply with its obligations under international law”.
“The Russian Federation is obligated to treat all prisoners of war in accordance with international humanitarian law,” a spokesperson said.
