“If reports are true that Russia undertook an extrajudicial execution of a captured Australian citizen, then the Albanese government should respond in the strongest possible terms,” Birmingham said.
“Three years ago, the then-Labor opposition urged Russian diplomatic expulsions, yet in government, Labor have undertaken no such action. If Russia has engaged in such an egregious and illegal action then it must now be a catalyst for action.
“Nothing less than the recalling of Australia’s ambassador to Russia and expulsion of Russia’s ambassador to Australia would be sufficient in such circumstances.”
Jenkins’ plight first came to light when footage began circulating online on December 22, showing him with his hands tied being paraded before a camera by Russian soldiers.
He was seen being slapped across the face and questioned.
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In the video, Jenkins, speaking in English and broken Ukrainian, explained he had been fighting in the Donbas region to help Ukraine.
It was unclear how long Jenkins, who left Australia to teach and travel in China in 2015, had been fighting with Ukrainian forces. He was the first Australian known to have been captured by Russia.
Jenkins attended Melbourne Grammar School, studied biomedical sciences at Monash University, and had been working as a lecturer at a Tianjin college in China.
Friends with whom he played cricket at the Toorak Prahran Cricket Club described him as having “a heart of gold”, saying he was well-liked, kind, generous, academic and a deep thinker. “He’s your typical Aussie cricket boy – he helped us win that premiership. He’s maybe a bit smarter than average, more deep-thinking. Thoughtful.”
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Jenkins’ late father, Scott, was a dentist and also a member of the club, with which the Jenkins family maintained a close association.
At least eight Australians have been killed since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including Victorian man Joel Benjamin Stremski, and Queenslanders Brock Greenwood and Matthew Jepson, who died while holding off Russian troops in the country’s east in October. Dozens of Australians are believed to still be fighting, often paid as part of the foreign legion.
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