Father of Brit ex-soldier 'captured by Russia in Ukraine' fears son will be tortured and 'begged him not to go to war'
25 November 2024, 05:44 | Updated: 25 November 2024, 05:46
The father of a former British soldier thought to have been captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine has revealed his "complete shock" at seeing his son in captivity.
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In a video posted on Sunday, a soldier who identifies himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson, aged 22, says that he is a former British Army soldier who signed up to fight for Ukraine's International Legion.
After seeing the footage, his father Scott Anderson, 41, said he was "so frightened" that his son would be tortured by his captors.
Scott Anderson, 41, 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.
"We spoke on WhatsApp almost every day until he went on his most recent operation. He was acting as a signalman. James last came home only a month and a half ago.
"He said his Ukrainian commander had made a promise that he'd contact me if he was ever killed or captured."
Revealing how he felt when he received the call: "When he called me and sent the video I was in complete shock and in tears. I could see straight away it was him.
"He looks frightened, scared and worried."
Mr Anderson said he had urged his son not to go to Ukraine - but said that he enlisted because he "was dead against what was happening to the Ukrainian people."
"I didn't want him to go. I did try to persuade him not to go - my whole family tried to persuade him," he said.
"He wanted to go out there because he thought he was doing what was right."
Read More: Britain now 'directly involved in war in Ukraine', Russian ambassador to UK says
Dressed in army fatigues, the man speaking in an English accent said: "I was in the British Army before, from 2019 to 2023, 22 Signal Regiment."
He says in the footage he was "just a private", "a signalman" in "One Signal Brigade, 22 Signal Regiment, 252 Squadron".
"When I left… got fired from my job, I applied on the International Legion webpage. I had just lost everything. I just lost my job," he said.
"My dad was away in prison, I see it on the TV. It was a stupid idea."
In a second video, the man is shown with his hands tied and tape over his eyes.
Detailing his supposed journey, he said: "I flew to Krakow, Poland, from London Luton. Bus from there to Medyka in Poland, on the Ukraine border."
Russian state news agency Tass reported that a military source said a "UK mercenary" had been "taken prisoner in the Kursk area" of Russia.
The UK Foreign Office said it was "supporting the family of a British man following reports of his detention".
