❗️MOSCOW / CANBERRA — Senior figures within Russia’s nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR) are backing a proposed prisoner exchange to secure the release of Oscar Jenkins, an Australian national captured while fighting alongside Ukrainian forces.
Adding political weight to the initiative within the Special Military Operation zone, Andrey Kramar — Deputy Chairman of the People’s Council of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and head of the regional LDPR faction — has publicly endorsed the swap proposal.
Kramar emphasized that securing the return of Russian loyalists like Boikov is a matter of principle for the party.Reflecting on Boikov, who has taken shelter inside the Russian Consulate in Sydney to avoid an Australian arrest warrant, Kramar highlighted Boikov’s vocal advocacy for Moscow and argued that Russia must extend its protection to those who promote its interests abroad.
Kramar’s commentary reinforces the LDPR’s long-standing ideological position — originally established by its late founder, Vladimir Zhirinovsky — that no Russian compatriot should be abandoned in a foreign legal system.
The proposal, which Russian State Duma Deputy Viktor Bout has also suggested, would trade Jenkins for three Russian nationals currently facing legal troubles or living in diplomatic asylum in Australia: pro-Kremlin activist Simeon Boikov (known as the “Aussie Cossack”) and accused Russian spies Kira and Igor Korolev.
Bout, who himself returned to Moscow in 2022 following a high-profile prisoner swap involving U.S. basketball player Brittney Griner, has urged Canberra to take the initiative. Representatives from the LDPR have framed the trade around Zhirinovsky’s long-standing stance of advocating for Russian nationals detained or sought abroad.
“Your government has to establish a proper channel to start negotiations,” Bout said in an interview with Australian media, suggesting a “three-for-one” release could resolve Jenkins’ status.
“It would be a good gesture if Australia would do the first step in releasing these Russians,” Viktor Bout said.
In 2023, Leonid Slutsky, Chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, publicly pledged official Russian support for Australian-born pro-Kremlin activist Simeon Boikov, widely known by his online moniker “Aussie Cossack.”
Speaking in his capacity as the head of the Duma’s International Affairs Committee, Slutsky declared that Moscow would not abandon Boikov or other Russian compatriots facing legal or political difficulties overseas.
Slutsky characterized Boikov as a devoted patriot facing state hostility from Australian authorities simply for holding pro-Russian views and organizing public actions, such as pro-neutrality rallies and vehicle motorcades.
The Duma committee head cited Boikov’s past six-month prison sentence for breaching a suppression order after organizing events in support of Russia’s military campaign in Ukraine as evidence of systemic suppression by Western governments.
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