Latest news with #Lugansk
Russia Today
18-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Moscow wants ‘lasting peace' with Kiev
Russia is seeking to achieve 'lasting and sustainable peace' by eliminating the root causes of the Ukraine conflict, President Vladimir Putin has said, in an extract of an interview released by Russia 1 TV on Sunday. In a video released by journalist Pavel Zarubin, Putin stated that Russia has 'enough strength and resources to bring what was started in 2022 to its logical conclusion' while accomplishing Moscow's key goals. Russia wants to 'eliminate the causes that caused this crisis, create conditions for long-term sustainable peace and ensure the security of the Russian state and the interests of our people in those territories that we always talk about,' he added. The president was apparently referring to Crimea, the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics, and the regions of Kherson and Zaporozhye, which overwhelmingly voted in favor of joining Russia in referendums in 2014 and 2022. People in these former Ukrainian territories 'consider Russian to be their native language' and see Russia as their homeland, he said. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Canberra slams Russian jailing of Australian who fought for Ukraine
Australia's government said Saturday it was "appalled" by a Russian-controlled court's 13-year penal colony sentence for an Australian man who was captured while fighting for Ukraine. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old from Melbourne, was convicted of being a "mercenary in an armed conflict" by the court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied east Lugansk region, prosecutors said. The former biology teacher was ordered to serve his time in a "strict regime penal colony". "The Australian Government is appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence given to Australian man Oscar Jenkins," Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. The government has "made clear" to Moscow that Jenkins must be treated as a prisoner of war, as a serving member of the regular Ukraine army, she said in a statement. "Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment," the foreign minister said. Australia had "serious concerns" for Jenkins, she said, and was working with partners including Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross to press for his welfare and release. Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies consider foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as "mercenaries". - Glass cage - This enables them to prosecute the fighters criminally, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention. Russia-installed prosecutors said Friday that Jenkins "took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024". They posted a video showing Jenkins standing in a courtroom behind a glass cage, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent. Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. That same month, he appeared in a video shared by a Russian military blogger showing him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face. He was then believed to have been killed in captivity, until Russia confirmed he was alive. A later video showed him undergoing a medical examination, with his captors heard joking in the background that his blood pressure showed "he wasn't dead". Australia's government said it was providing consular support to Jenkins' family. Australia opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, condemning it as illegal and immoral. Ties with Moscow had already been damaged by the July 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 298 people aboard including 38 Australians. djw/tym
Al Arabiya
17-05-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Canberra slams Russian jailing of Australian who fought for Ukraine
Australia's government said Saturday it was 'appalled' by a Russian-controlled court's 13-year penal colony sentence for an Australian man who was captured while fighting for Ukraine. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old from Melbourne, was convicted of being a 'mercenary in an armed conflict' by the court in Ukraine's Russian-occupied east Lugansk region, prosecutors said. The former biology teacher was ordered to serve his time in a 'strict regime penal colony.' 'The Australian government is appalled at the sham trial and 13-year sentence given to Australian man Oscar Jenkins,' Foreign Minister Penny Wong said. The government has 'made clear' to Moscow that Jenkins must be treated as a prisoner of war, as a serving member of the regular Ukraine army, she said in a statement. 'Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment,' the foreign minister said. Australia had 'serious concerns' for Jenkins, she said, and was working with partners including Ukraine and the International Committee of the Red Cross to press for his welfare and release. Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies consider foreigners traveling to fight in Ukraine as 'mercenaries.' This enables them to prosecute the fighters criminally, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention. Russia-installed prosecutors said Friday that Jenkins 'took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024.' They posted a video showing Jenkins standing in a courtroom behind a glass cage, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent. Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. That same month, he appeared in a video shared by a Russian military blogger showing him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face. He was then believed to have been killed in captivity, until Russia confirmed he was alive. A later video showed him undergoing a medical examination, with his captors heard joking in the background that his blood pressure showed 'he wasn't dead.' Australia's government said it was providing consular support to Jenkins' family. Australia opposed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, condemning it as illegal and immoral. Ties with Moscow had already been damaged by the July 2014 downing of Malaysian Airlines flight MH17 by a Russian-made missile over eastern Ukraine, resulting in the deaths of 298 people aboard including 38 Australians.
News.com.au
16-05-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Australian Oscar Jenkins jailed for 13 years in Russia after being captured in Ukraine
An Australian man captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine has been jailed for 13 years on the charge of being a 'mercenary', Russia-installed prosecutors said Friday. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old man from Melbourne, was convicted of being a 'mercenary in an armed conflict' and sentenced to 13 years 'in a strict regime penal colony' by a Russian-controlled court in Ukraine's east Lugansk region. Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies consider foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as 'mercenaries'. This enables them to prosecute them under its criminal code, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention. The Australian government had repeatedly called on Russia to release Jenkins, a former biology teacher. Russia-installed prosecutors said Jenkins 'took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024'. They posted a video showing Jenkins standing in a courtroom behind a glass cage, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent. Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. In that same month, he appeared in a video shared by a Russian military blogger showing him being roughly interrogated and slapped in the face. He was then believed to have been killed in captivity, until Russia confirmed he was alive.
SBS Australia
16-05-2025
- Politics
- SBS Australia
Australian Oscar Jenkins jailed for 13 years by Russia for fighting with Ukrainian forces
Russia has sentenced an Australian citizen to 13 years in a maximum-security prison for fighting alongside Ukrainian forces, state prosecutors in a part of eastern Ukraine controlled by Russia say. Oscar Jenkins, a 33-year-old man from Melbourne, was convicted of being a "mercenary in an armed conflict" and sentenced to 13 years "in a strict regime penal colony" by a Russian-controlled court in Ukraine's east Lugansk region. The court had ruled he had taken part in combat operations against Russian troops between March and December 2024. Russia and its eastern Ukrainian proxies consider foreigners travelling to fight in Ukraine as "mercenaries". This enables them to prosecute them under its criminal code, rather than treating them as captured prisoners of war with protections and rights under the Geneva Convention. Russia-installed prosecutors said Jenkins "took part in combat operations against Russian military personnel between March and December 2024". They posted a video showing Jenkins standing in a court room behind a glass cage, his hands behind his back and his expression despondent. Russian forces captured Jenkins in December 2024. Asked last month if Australia had abandoned Jenkins , Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: "We certainly have not." "[Australia will] continue to make representations to the reprehensible regime of Vladimir Putin on behalf of Mr Jenkins," he said. He said Australia remained committed to Ukraine's fight "for the international rule of law" and reaffirmed that his government would consider sending troops to support a Europe-led peacekeeping force in Ukraine.
