Slidstvo.info, a team of independent professional journalists, found out that a video with the alleged body of Australian Oscar Jenkins, who fought on the side of Ukraine and was taken prisoner, was published four years ago on an Iranian website, and its description refers to the events in Nagorno-Karabakh.

Source:Slidstvo.info

Details: Slidstvo.info journalists spoke to one of the brothers-in-arms of Australian volunteer Oscar Jenkins, who wished to remain anonymous. The publication verified the source’s identity and confirmed that he serves in the same unit as Jenkins.

The soldier is convinced that Jenkins was killed by Russians and sent journalists a video showing the bodies of soldiers on the back of a car. The video, in Russian, refers to "Australian mercenaries" who are "planned to be killed".

However, the journalists discovered that the video was not original. OSINT (Open-source intelligence) analysis revealed that an identical recording, but without the Russian voiceover, was published four years ago on an Iranian video service for free viewing and sharing.

The author of the video signed the original as The Price of Karabakh with the hashtags "Karabakh", "war", "soldiers" and "corpses". The video is in Armenian, and the cameraman notes that everyone in the video is wounded.

The journalists also discovered that Jenkins served in the 402nd Separate Rifle Battalion, part of the 66th Separate Mechanised Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He signed a contract on 4 April 2024 and went missing on 16 December of the same year during a combat mission near Mykolaivka, Luhansk Oblast.

On the day of his disappearance, Jenkins was added to the list of prisoners of war. The Armed Forces of Ukraine told Slidstvo.info that the transfer of his body had not been confirmed. The Office of the Prosecutor General also reported that it had no evidence of the Australian's death. The Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War says it is not commenting on the issue. 

Journalists from Slidstvo.info have also submitted a request to the Australian Embassy in Ukraine to confirm or deny reports of Jenkins' death in Russian captivity.

Meanwhile, on 16 January, Russian propagandist Alexander Sladkov, who had earlier released a video of Jenkins' interrogation, announced via Telegram that Jenkins had been relocated to Russia. In his post, he stated that "the Australian's life was spared" and that Jenkins was awaiting trial: "He will serve his time, unless sentenced to life, and then go back to his home in Australia".

Vasyl Myroshnychenko, Ukraine's Ambassador to Australia, told Slidstvo.info that the news of Oscar Jenkins' likely execution had generated considerable uproar in Australia.

He also suggested that this could be part of the Kremlin's information campaign designed to intimidate foreigners considering joining Ukraine's defence.

Background : 

• On 15 January, CNN reported, citing Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, that Russia may have killed Oscar Jenkins, an Australian citizen who fought alongside Ukraine and was taken prisoner. The Australian government has pledged to "take the strongest action possible" if this information is confirmed. 
• CNN found that Russian troops captured Jenkins in December. A video of his interrogation was posted online, but the channel was unable to verify the filming's location. The footage shows Jenkins' hands tightly bound, and he appears not to understand the questions asked in Russian.
• Australian broadcasters ABC and the CNN affiliate Seven News also suggested that Jenkins had likely been killed in captivity, citing statements from his fellow soldiers.

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