A Russian court has sentenced British soldier James Scott Rhys Anderson to 19 years for ‘illegally invading’ the Kursk region of Russia.

The 22-year-old from Banbury will spend five years in prison and the rest of his sentence in an unidentified maximum security penal colony.

Anderson was arrested by Russian authorities late last year, after travelling from London Luton to Poland, then entering Ukraine to join the fight against Russia.

Speaking at court previously, 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”.’

Anderson’s father, Scott Anderson, 41, previously said he worried his son would be tortured.

‘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,’ he told the Mail.

A video of Anderson in court appeared to show him saying he served in the British army from 2019-2023.

Metro is contacting Anderson’s family.

Anderson was captured during fighting in Russia’s Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops staged a surprise cross-border incursion last summer.

A Foreign Office spokesperson told Metro: ‘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.

‘We remain in close contact with Mr Anderson’s family and are providing consular support.’

Last week, three British men who gave their lives in service of Ukraine were among the fallen remembered at a giant art installation in Kyiv.  

Peter Fouché, James Wilton and Callum Tindal-Draper were honoured at the ‘Heart of Ukraine’ in the city’s Southern Railway Station.  

The names of the country’s fallen during the full-scale attack launched by Russia have been displayed since the war’s three-year mark on February 24.  

Some of the first names to appear on the giant beating heart were employees of the Ukrainian Railways who gave their lives, whether by saving people or by simply doing their job.  

When the war between Russia and Ukraine first broke out, a teenage Queen’s Guard soldier travelled to fight in Ukraine and was arrested after landing back in London.

The teenage soldier breached Ministry of Defence (MoD) orders, going AWOL after it was said he was ‘bored’ with the ceremonial role of his regiment.

His departure caused major panic, with security chiefs urgently trying to intercept the teenager.

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