Father of ‘ex-British soldier’ captured by Russia fears son will be tortured after fighting for Ukraine

The father of a “former British soldier” allegedly captured by Russian troops for fighting for Ukraine expressed fear that his son might be tortured in prison.

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was taken prisoner in the Kursk area of Russia, state news agency RIA reported, citing a security source.

In a video posted on unofficial pro-war Russian Telegram channels, a young bearded man wearing military clothing with what appears to be his hands tied in the back, says in English that he formerly served in the British Army.

The soldier's father Scott Anderson told the Daily Mail: “I'm hoping he'll be used as a bargaining chip but my son told me they torture their prisoners and I'm so frightened he'll be tortured.”

Mr Anderson, 44, had been back in the UK a month and half ago. “We spoke on WhatsApp almost every day until he went on his most recent operation," he said.

"He said his Ukrainian commander had made a promise that he'd contact me if he was ever killed or captured."

The UK Foreign Office told The Independent it was “supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention”.

Mr Anderson said he broke down in tears after receiving the video of his son, who looked "frightened, scared and worried".

Mr Anderson said he didn't want his son to join the war in Ukraine and the entire family had tried to stop him: "He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right. He was dead against what was happening to the Ukrainian people.”

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky issued a call in February 2022 for foreign nationals to join the fight against Russia after Vladimir Putin attacked Ukraine. Since then, thousands of people have joined the Ukrainian troops, including units such as the International Legion, which comprises foreign groups and operates as a part of the Ukrainian military.

The man was captured from the border region of Kursk, where Russia has moved about 50,000 of its troops along with North Korean soldiers to take back the parts of the region after Ukraine launched a cross-border incursion on 6 August.

In the video which emerged over the weekend, the mercenary in an English accent said to the camera: “I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment. Just a private. I was a signalman. One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron.”

He explained that he signed up to fight for Ukraine’s International Legion after losing his job. “When I left, I got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job,” he said.

“I see it on the TV,” he added, shaking his head. “It was a stupid idea.”

He described how he had travelled to Ukraine from Britain, saying: “I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border.”

Mr Anderson told the Daily Mail that his son had "fallen in love with a Ukrainian although I don’t know her name".

In 2022, British nationals Sean Pinner, Aiden Aslin, Andrew Hill and John Harding, and aid volunteers Dylan Healy and Paul Urey were captured by Kremlin-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine.