The federal government has urged Russia to adhere to international law obligations regarding prisoners of war, after a video purporting to show the Russian capture of an Australian man fighting for Ukraine on the war’s eastern front circulated online.

The man, who identified himself as Oscar Jenkins, is struck several times and questioned roughly in Russian in the video, which was circulating on the messaging service Telegram. Nine newspapers, which broke news of the video, reported that the footage was first shared by the Russian journalist Alexander Sladkov.

In the video, Jenkins has his hands bound with what appears to be tape or plastic. He is wearing military fatigues and has dirt on his face. Answering in English and broken Russian, he says he is 32 years old and lives in Australia and Ukraine.

“I’m Australian,” Jenkins says in English. “Oscar Jenkins. 32 years old … I study biology.”

A man behind the camera appears to strike Jenkins twice in the head with a stick as he is questioned in Russian.

Guardian Australia understands federal officials are working to verify the authenticity of the video and details about the man involved. Anthony Albanese noted that Russian forces sometimes seeded incorrect information.

“This is concerning news, and we’re working through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to provide support, including, for this gentleman, trying to ascertain the details and the facts which are there,” theprime minister told reporters on Monday morning.

“We know that the Russians often put out information that isn’t right. So our embassy in Moscow is working.” Albanese said the government “always look after Australians”.

In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, the acting foreign affairs minister, Mark Dreyfus, said the government was making representations to Moscow about the incident.

“We urge the Russian government to fully adhere to its obligations under international humanitarian law, including with respect to prisoners of war. Our immediate priority is understanding where Mr Jenkins is and confirming his wellbeing,” he said.

“We are providing consular support to Mr Jenkins’ family. I reiterate the government’s clear advice to all Australians – do not travel to Ukraine.”

Social media profiles under the name Oscar Jenkins appear to show the same man running a cross-country race in Hong Kong in 2017, wearing a singlet with the slogan “go vegan”, as well as a YouTube video from 2023 titled “I WILL FORCE CHINESE PEOPLE TO BE VEGAN”. In that video, the man speaks about wanting to talk to people about veganism.

A LinkedIn page under the name Oscar Jenkins shows a profile picture of a text graphic saying “Vegan Ukraine” superimposed over a map of the country, and the words “righteous soldier” and “destroy evil be good”.

That page, which does not carry a photo of the user’s face, describes Jenkins as a “Marketing Consultant and university lecturer” with an employment history including as a lecturer at the Tianjin Modern Vocational Technology College in China, a foreign language teacher at another Chinese school and several positions in Melbourne – including working at a Toorak club and as a junior cricket coach.

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In a version of the interrogation video posted to Sladkov’s Telegram page, a caption written in Russian and translated to English states “our biologist was caught from Australia”.

“What is this guy doing? Who is this guy?” the caption reads.

“I hope everything will be fine with the guy, trial, hard labor, everything as it should be. I understand the Ukrainian prisoners. But what is this guy doing here?”

In a statement, the Australian Federation of Ukrainian Organisations said it was concerned about the man’s welfare.

“It is horrific that a young man who has chosen to help Ukraine resist an illegal and lawless invasion is now in the hands of Russian occupying troops. As Australians, we must do everything in our power to ensure Oscar is released,” the federation said.

“He’s one of our own and we must help him and his family at this time. The AFUO will support all efforts by the Australian government to assist this young man as a matter of urgency.”