Russian strike hits civilian bus – DW – 05/17/2025

Australia on Saturday condemned a Russian-controlled court’s sentencing of an Australian citizen to 13 years in a penal colony for fighting with Ukrainian forces.

Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong called the verdict a “sham trial” and said Oscar Jenkins, as a member of Ukraine’s regular armed forces, must be treated as a prisoner of war under international law.

Jenkins, a 33-year-old Australian man from Melbourne, was convicted of being a “mercenary in an armed conflict” and sentenced by a Russian-installed court in Ukraine’s eastern Luhansk region.

“As a full-serving member of the regular Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mr Jenkins is a prisoner of war,” said Wong. “The Australian Government has made clear to Russia that Mr Jenkins must be given the protections afforded to him as a prisoner of war. Russia is obligated to treat him in accordance with international humanitarian law, including humane treatment.”

She said Australia would work with Ukraine and the Red Cross to ensure Jenkins’ welfare and seek his release.

Jenkins was captured last year while serving in Ukraine’s military.

Russia considers foreigners who travel to Ukraine to fight as “mercenaries” and prosecutes them under its criminal code rather than treating them as prisoners of war, who are protected by the Geneva Convention.

At least eight people were killed in a Russian attack on a civilian bus in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday, Ukrainian officials said. 

The attack also left five people injured.

Ihor Tkachenko, head of Sumy’s military administration, announced the attack on Telegram, adding that “medics and rescuers have been urgently sent to the scene.”

The strike came just hours after rare direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine in Turkey. 

The lower-level delegation meeting marked the first direct negotiations between the two countries since the early weeks of Russia’s invasion.

Ukrainian officials said at least eight people were killed in a Russian attack on a civilian bus in Ukraine’s northeastern Sumy region on Saturday.

The strike came just hours after rare direct peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

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