In Russia, a captured British man was sentenced to 19 years in a colony

The Russians stated that the prisoner invaded the territory of the Kursk region in November 2024, where he was detained.

A court in Kursk has sentenced British and Northern Irish citizen James Scott Rhys Anderson to 19 years in prison for "committing a terrorist act and being a mercenary," Astra reported on its Telegram channel on Wednesday, March 5.

The Russians said that Anderson fought as a mercenary in a Ukrainian armed formation, and in November 2024 invaded the territory of the Kursk region, where he was detained. The Russian investigation claims that Anderson allegedly “committed crimes against the civilian population,” but does not specify which ones.

The Second Western District Military Court also sentenced four Ukrainian prisoners of war – Ivan Furlet, Yuriy Zadorozhny, Yuriy Sychenko, and Yuriy Hayuk – to 17 years in prison.

According to Russian investigators, the Ukrainians also invaded the Kursk region, where they "opened fire to kill Russian servicemen and civilians; forbade the latter from moving, prevented their evacuation."