Australian officials have urged Russian counterparts to adhere to humanitarian obligations in their treatment of 32-year-old Melburnian Oscar Jenkins.
In videos circulated on social media, a visibly bruised and shaken Mr Jenkins is interrogated and beaten by a Russian-speaking captor.
"Live in Australia and Ukraine. I'm a teacher," he says, mixing broken Russian and English.
The man asks Mr Jenkins in Russian how it was he came to be in Kramatorsk, a town 700km east of Kyiv in the Donbas region, near the Russian-Ukrainian frontline.
Standing in army fatigues in a forest, Mr Jenkins tells the man he wanted to help Ukraine and had previously lived in China.
According to a LinkedIn profile matching Mr Jenkins' details, he attended Melbourne Grammar School before working for seven years as a university lecturer in Tianjin, China.
Mr Jenkins was deeply involved with the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club in Melbourne, winning a senior premiership with the club in 2013-14 and serving as a junior coach for three seasons, his LinkedIn states.
"Oscar is a loved and talented member of the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club," club president Neil Gumley told ABC Radio.Â
Acting foreign affairs minister Mark Dreyfus said the Australian government was making representations to Russia about Mr Jenkins.
"We urge the Russian government to fully adhere to its obligations under international humanitarian law, including with respect to prisoners of war," he said in a statement."Our immediate priority is understanding where Mr Jenkins is and confirming his wellbeing."We are providing consular support to Mr Jenkins' family."I reiterate the government's clear advice to all Australians - do not travel to Ukraine."
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says the government is investigating the man's alleged capture. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Mr Jenkins' capture was "concerning news", Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a press conference earlier on Monday.
"We're working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide support, including for this gentleman, trying to ascertain the details and the facts," he told reporters.
Mr Jenkins is the first Australian combatant reportedly captured by Russian forces in Ukraine.
Glenn Kolomeitz, a former Australian Army officer and lawyer, estimated upwards of 30 Australians were in the combat zone fighting with the Ukrainian foreign legion.
"I now suspect that this guy will be exploited for propaganda purposes, to apply some sort of leverage to the Australian government," he told ABC Radio.
Foreign hostages were valuable for Russia as bargaining chips to put pressure on foreign governments supporting the Ukrainian war effort or as propaganda tools, Dr Kolomeitz said.
Russia has said foreign citizens fighting for Ukraine will be prosecuted as mercenaries and face up to 15 years in jail, which would contravene international law.
"They're not mercenaries," Dr Kolomeitz said.
"They are lawful combatants engaged in international armed conflict and they're therefore entitled to full prisoner-of-war protections."
Glenn Kolomeitz says at least 30 Australians are believed to be fighting with Ukrainian forces. (Mick Tsikas/AAP PHOTOS)
Dr Kolomeitz said Western combatants, including US and UK citizens, previously captured by Russian forcers generally were mistreated but were usually not executed due to their propaganda and leverage value.
The Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations was "devastated" to learn of Mr Jenkins' capture.
"We know how brutal and violent Russian forces can be, the ways they seek to degrade and dehumanise their captives, their disrespect for norms of behaviour," the organisation said in a statement.
"It is horrific that a young man who has chosen to help Ukraine resist an illegal and lawless invasion is now in the hands of Russian occupying troops."
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