British POW, 22, sentenced to 19 years in Russia prison for fighting in Ukraine

James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was sentenced to 19 years in Russian prison. (Image: NC)

A British prisoner of war has been sentenced to 19 years in prison in Russia for fighting in Ukraine, according to an occupied region's judicial system. James Scott Rhys Anderson, 22, was sentenced under Russia's terrorist act for "crimes committed as part of the Ukrainian army in the Kursk region". He was charged with terror and mercenary offences after pleading guilty in a closed trial following his arrest last year.

The judicial system said he would serve the first five years in prison, and the remaining 14 in a maximum security penal colony. Non-governmental Russian news agency Interfax reported that a Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier in the same unit as Anderson was questioned as a witness. Prevous reports suggested the Brit illegally crossed the Russian border as part of his missions in Ukraine.

Anderson pleaded guilty according to Russian media. (Image: NC)

Investigators said he illegally entered Kursk in November with an armed combat group that they said committed "criminal acts against civilians".

Ukrainian troops crossed the border into the Kursk region in August last year, and they still hold some territory there despite fierce conflict.

Russian state media also released footage of Anderson handcuffed and locked in a cage used for defendants in court cases.

They claimed he admitting to serving in the British Army between 2019-2023 before joining the foreign legion of Ukraine's Armed Forces.

The press service of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation told Russian news agency TASS that Anderson was "armed with automatic firearms and explosive devices" when he entered Russia.

It added: "Pursuing the goal of intimidating the population, causing significant property damage and destabilizing the activities of government bodies, he committed criminal acts against the civilian population.

"Anderson was detained in the Kursk region, after which he was taken into custody."

In November, Anderson appeared on Russian state television, seemingly under duress, where he said he anticipated a sentence of 20 to 30 years.

The 22-year-old revealed that his family had warned him not to go to Ukraine, but he ignored them. He said: "All the time when I'm in my cell, I'm always thinking about how my mum and dad said, 'Don't go back, don't go back'."