RUSSIA has released footage of the heartstopping moment it captured a British prisoner of war – after a split second decision not to go down in a blaze of glory.
Volunteer soldier James Andersoon is heard saying “I’m going to f***ing shoot them”; but held his fire and surrendered after being outgunned and surrounded by Russian marines in Kursk.
A body cam strapped to his chest recorded him threatening Putin's men seconds before he is urged to stop by a fellow Ukrainian fighter, who told him: “Stop stop stop stop stop! No more!”;
Anderson, from Barnbury, Oxfordshire, was lucky to escape with his life as Ukraine has record over 100 cases of Russia murdering troops who surrender.
He is seen laying down his weapon and being taken prisoner by Russian Black Sea marines.
Throughout the footage, brave Anderson sounded calm and collected at the moment of most jeopardy as his voice doesn’t even wobble.
One Russian soldier is heard ordering: “Put your machine gun down, put it down!”;
He is then told: “Get down, lie down! Down! Lie down!”;
The footage, allegedly captured during Russia’s assault in the border region last November, appears to show Anderson revealing he has two grenades on him before he is disarmed.
A Russian voice says: “Keep him at gunpoint! Get down on your back!”
Anderson, who had joined Ukraine‘s foreign legion after serving in the British Army, is seen admitting some of his kit is American-made.
One Russian orders: “Take his armoured vest off. Hold his hand.”;
Meanwhile, another commands: “Hold still, give me your hands.”;
Russia claims Anderson was captured during Ukraine’s short-lived incursion into the Kursk region late last year.
Anderson had also told state news agency RIA Novosti that it was wrong for Ukraine, backed by the West, to invade Russia’s Kursk region, where he surrendered.
“We shouldn’t be here – the Russians really don’t want us here,”; he said.
A marine commander had earlier told Russian state TV of the moment Anderson was caught.
“There was a foreign man organising the battle, then we found out it was a Briton,”; said the commander, call sign Bach.
“We just came up and said, surrender lads, you're surrounded.
“The Briton immediately threw down his foreign machine gun.”;
Anderson was previously paraded on Russian propaganda TV – and earlier this month, he was sentenced to almost two decades in the gulag after being convicted of terrorism and mercenary charges.
His sentencing followed a secret trial from March 3 to 5 in what critics have slammed as a “kangaroo court”;.
The ex-British Army squaddie was sentenced to five years in prison and the remaining 14 in a maximum security penal colony.
The Foreign Office blasted the verdict, saying: “We strongly condemn the sentencing of James Anderson, a British national, in a Russian court on false charges.
“Under international law, Prisoners of War cannot be prosecuted for participating in hostilities.
“We demand that Russia respect these obligations, including those under the Geneva Conventions, and stop using Prisoners of War for political and propaganda purposes.”;
Under the Geneva Conventions, PoWs “must not be prosecuted for simply having fought on behalf”; of one side, unless specific crimes have been committed.
The International Committee of the Red Cross warned ahead of sentencing that failure to give PoWs a fair trial is a “grave breach”; of international law.
Anderson was seen in earlier footage with a shaved head and what appeared to be a scar on his neck as he identified himself to Russian officials.
Other videos showed him bound and in handcuffs, saying he served in the British Army between 2019 and 2023 before joining Ukraine’s foreign legion online.
The Brit's family have since said they fear Anderson is being tortured in one of Russia’s notorious prisons.
His dad Scott, previously said: “I’m hoping he’ll be used as a bargaining chip but my son told me they torture their prisoners and I’m so frightened he’ll be tortured.
“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.”
Geneva convention on PoWs
By Sayan Bose, Foreign News Reporter
GENEVA conventions are a set of international laws that lay the foundation for humanitarian laws for soldiers and civilians in modern-day armed conflicts.
The international rules for prisoners of war (PoWs) include:
- Human treatment: PoWs must be treated humanely at all times, and protected from violence, intimidation, insults, and public curiosity.
- Medical care: PoWs must receive adequate medical care, and seriously ill or wounded PoWs must be repatriated immediately.
- Living conditions: PoWs must be housed in conditions similar to those of the detaining forces, and their living quarters must be hygienic and healthy. PoW camps must be located away from combat zones, and clearly marked with the letters “PW” or “PG”.
- Communication: PoWs must be able to communicate with the outside world, including by writing letters and sending messages. They can also send “capture cards” to their families and the ICRC to inform them of their whereabouts.
- Release: PoWs must be released and repatriated as soon as hostilities end.
- Prosecution: PoWs cannot be prosecuted for direct participation in hostilities, but they may be prosecuted for war crimes.
- Personal belongings: PoWs may not be deprived of their personal belongings.
- Identification: PoWs are only required to provide their name, rank, date of birth, and serial number.
