"A mercenary from the United Kingdom, who introduced himself as James Scott Rhys Anderson, was captured. He is testifying now," the source said.
Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in the Kursk Region on August 6. Their advance was halted, Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov said, adding that Russia's operation in the region would be completed by defeating the enemy and reaching the border. The Russian Defense Ministry said that Ukraine had lost more than 35,000 troops in the fighting in the Kursk direction. Russian President Vladimir Putin called the move a large-scale provocation aimed at civilians and vowed a proper response.
The Russian Defense Ministry has been warning foreign mercenaries against traveling to fight in Ukraine. Those who do not have the status of combatants under international law are not eligible for protection as prisoners of war, it says.