The U.K. government will provide assistance to a British man reportedly detained by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine, Foreign Secretary David Lammy said Monday during G7 talks.
Lammy confirmed he had been briefed on the situation involving 22-year-old James Anderson, who was reportedly captured in Russia’s Kursk region. “We will offer this U.K. national all the support we can,” Lammy said.
Over the weekend, pro-Kremlin Telegram channels circulated a video of a man with his hands tied, identifying himself as Anderson. The man claimed he had joined the Ukrainian army after being dismissed from the British army in 2023.
Scott Anderson, the 41-year-old father of James, told The Daily Mail that he learned of his son’s capture from his Ukrainian commander and received the video.
“I was in complete shock and in tears. I could see straight away it was him,” Anderson said, describing his son as appearing “frightened, scared and worried.”
James Anderson, a former signalman from Banbury, England, reportedly traveled to Ukraine eight months ago despite his family urging him not to.
British government travel advice warns citizens against traveling to Ukraine to fight or assist in the war, saying that such actions could result in prosecution under U.K. law.
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