A Russian court has sentenced a 22-year-old British man to 19 years in jail after he was captured fighting for Ukraine.
James Scott Rhys Anderson was charged with alleged terrorist offences in a trial which took place behind closed doors before the Russian court handed down the strict sentence this week.
According to the sentence, Anderson will spend the first five years in prison before being shipped off to a penal colony.
Telegram messages that circulated the news of his trial claimed that he stood accused of "committing particularly serious crimes in the Kursk region".
A Ukrainian soldier who was in the same unit as Anderson reportedly testified during the trial.
Anderson’s sentencing came several months after he was reportedly captured by Russian forces while supporting the Ukrainian war effort.
The former soldier’s capture by Russian forces first became known in November 2024 after videos started circulating of Rhys Anderson being held in captivity.
Vladimir Putin’s forces claimed at the time that he was captured during a surprise Ukrainian offensive that took place within the Kursk region.
In videos that were shared at the time, Anderson claimed that he had signed up to fight in Ukraine after losing his job.
“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 in the video. "I see it on the TV. It was a stupid idea."
Alongside video footage of Anderson in army fatigues, Russia accused him of being a UK mercenary.
Anderson has also been featured in other propaganda videos since his capture, including one clip where he was grilled about his time in the British Army and quizzed on why he was in Russia.
Anderson’s father has also previously spoken of his son’s decision to support Ukraine, despite some trying to convince him not to go.
Following his son’s arrest, his father, Scott Anderson, told the Mail Online: “I didn’t want him to go. I did try to persuade him not to go – my whole family tried to persuade 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.”
News of Anderson’s sentencing comes less than two weeks after Ukraine marked the grim milestone of three years since Russia invaded in 2022.
Earlier this week, the UK reinforced its support for Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy following a tense standoff with US president Donald Trump.
“You have full backing across the United Kingdom,” Starmer told the Ukrainian president. “We stand with you, with Ukraine, for as long as it may take.”
