Ukraine says it has captured its first Indonesian prisoner of war, amid what it says is a spike in recruitment by Russia from the south-east Asian nation.

The 49-year-old man from Java was taken to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region to take part in a Russian assault, but managed to reach Ukrainian-held territory after the group came under drone attack, according to Ukraine’s state-run I Want to Live project. He was then captured by the Ukrainians.

According to the project, some 283 Indonesians were recruited in the first nine months of this year to fight for Russia against Ukraine. It said recruitment from Indonesia was no more than 10 in the previous three years. This month Jakarta urged Moscow to ensure no Indonesians were drafted into its military, following the reported death in October of an Indonesian national serving with the military.

The Russian embassy in Jakarta did not immediately respond to questions about the alleged recruitment effort but it is not the first time Russia has sought foreign mercenaries for its war effort.

Australia has sent a record 193 official representatives to the COP31 climate summit in Turkey, with taxpayers covering the cost of travel, accommodation and other expenses.

The fortnight-long conference and associated pre-COP meetings come as Australian households face continued pressure on their budgets. Contracts disclosed through AusTender show $2.26m has been committed to support the delegation, including $1.079m for the Australian pavilion, $873,000 for hotels and $32,000 for coffee supplied to conference attendees. A separate $148m has been allocated over three years in the 2025-26 Budget to fund Australia’s role in COP31 and the Pacific pre-COP.

Energy Minister Chris Bowen has said $50m of the $148m allocation will cover direct conference costs, with the remainder set aside for engagement with Pacific nations. The delegation includes a range of specialist officials, including lead negotiators, Australian Federal Police personnel and experts working across nature, forests, mountains and ocean support; But the list also includes roles such as a luggage liaison officer for media travelling with the Prime Minister, a senior protocol officer and a “Youth-Led Climate Forum Focal Point and Youth in department of climate change”.

The government has been scrutinised for the scale of the taxpayer-funded commitment to COP31 as households continue to face pressure from higher living costs and electricity bills. Shadow infrastructure minister Bridget McKenzie said the money should have been directed towards projects Australians relied on.

A global fossil fuel price crisis is “spreading inflation like a cancer” around the planet, the UN’s climate chief, Simon Stiell, told the opening plenary of critical UN climate talks in Turkey.

Stiell joined Cop31 hosts Turkey and Australia, which is leading the negotiations, in promoting renewable energy and a new electrification goal as an optimistic alternative to a planet still tied to oil, coal and gas.

Stiell told delegates this “fossil fuel cost chaos” had “delivered a global shock wave, hitting households hard and spreading inflation like a cancer”. He also said: “The urgency of this moment must drive us forward. Global heating is already costing the Earth,” adding that it was vulnerable communities paying the price and frustration at a lack of fairness was palpable.

Countries agreed at the 2023 climate summit to triple renewable energy capacity by 2030. Dr Fatih Birol, the executive director of the International Energy Agency, said if countries endorsed the 2035 electrification target it would give an “unmistakable signal to markets” and a chance to increase both renewable and nuclear electricity.