Young ex-British soldier caught by Russians while fighting in Ukraine's forces
A former UK military serviceman was detained by Russian forces in Kursk region while serving in Ukraineʼs International Legion. The 22-year-oldʼs capture was confirmed by Moscowʼs security services
Russian forces captured a ex-British Army serviceman James Scott Rhys Anderson in Kursk region; the 22-year-old was shown in combat gear speaking to camera with his hands bound
The young soldier who served in Britainʼs 22 Signal Regiment from early-2019 till mid-2023 explained his path to Ukraine: “I flew to Krakow Poland from London-Luton; then took a bus to Medyka on Ukraine border‚“ (this route is known as common entry-point for foreign fighters)
I see it on the TV. It was a stupid idea
The UKʼs foreign-office confirmed theyʼre helping Andersons family while Russian social-media celebrated the capture; A well-known military blogger with 3m+ followers stated that the brit was caught in Plekhovo village which Ukraine made into a strong-point
The situation in Kursk shows growing pressure from Moscowʼs side - they deployed 50k troops (including North-Korean soldiers) to take back territory lost to Ukraine in 08/24. A high-ranking Ukrainian official mentioned theyʼve already lost 40% of gained ground; this reminds of previous cases when Shaun Pinner and Aiden Aslin were caught near Mariupol but later swapped in a prisoner exchange
