Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says gov’t working to confirm report that volunteer battle was killed by Russian forces.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has pledged to take the “strongest attainable motion” towards Russia whether it is confirmed that Russian forces killed a Melbourne college instructor of their captivity in Ukraine.
Albanese made the remarks on Wednesday after Seven Information reported that Oscar Jenkins, who volunteered to battle with Ukrainian forces, was believed to have been killed.
Australia’s Division of Overseas Affairs and Commerce has mentioned it has not verified the report, which cited unnamed sources in Ukraine, however officers have “grave issues” for Jenkins’ welfare.
“We name upon Russia to right away verify Oscar Jenkins’s standing, we stay gravely involved,” Albanese informed reporters in Tasmania.
“We’ll await the information to return out. But when there was any hurt precipitated to Oscar Jenkins, that’s completely reprehensible and the Australian authorities will take the strongest motion attainable.”
Australian Minister for Overseas Affairs Penny Wong mentioned earlier that officers have been making “pressing enquiries” about Jenkins and “all choices” have been being thought of when it comes to a diplomatic response, together with the attainable expulsion of the Russian ambassador.
“My ideas are with Mr Jenkins’s household. They’ve lived with the concern and uncertainty of a beloved one in the course of a overseas warfare for a lot of months. I do know these stories shall be devastating to them, and they’re in my ideas, and I’m certain the ideas of many Australians,” Wong informed ABC Radio.
Wong mentioned that Australia had had a “tough relationship” with Russia for a few years, citing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and the downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian-made missile in 2014 with the lack of 298 folks, together with 38 Australians.
“We have now maintained, Australia has maintained diplomatic relations with Russia by way of that interval underneath totally different governments. Nonetheless, we are going to think about all choices as soon as we’ve got ascertained the information and as soon as we will confirm what has really occurred right here with Mr Jenkins,” Wong mentioned.
Video that circulated on social media final month confirmed Jenkins wearing fight uniform whereas being interrogated and hit throughout the pinnacle by an unseen man talking Russian.
The 32-year-old is believed to be the primary Australian held as a prisoner of warfare by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Not together with Jenkins, no less than six Australians are believed to have been killed in Ukraine since Russia launched its invasion.
If his loss of life is confirmed, Jenkins could be the primary Australian prisoner of warfare killed by a overseas energy since Horace William “Slim” Madden died in captivity in North Korea in 1951.
