COLOMBO: Around 280 Sri Lankans have been recruited to fight on both sides of Russia’s war in Ukraine, officials tasked with investigating its citizens’ involvement in the conflict said Tuesday.
Complaints began pouring in from relatives after the defence ministry set up a special unit last week to collect information on those who had travelled to both countries to join the war effort.
“We have received complaints from approximately 280” family members, public security minister Tiran Alles told AFP.
Most had been recruited for the Russian army and duped with promises of high salaries and falsely told they would be given non-combat roles, lawmaker Gamini Waleboda told parliament on Monday.
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There was no official count of how many Sri Lankans may have died in the conflict.
Sri Lanka has repeatedly warned its citizens against travelling to Russia or Ukraine to join the fighting.
But there are no restrictions on Sri Lankans travelling abroad and large numbers have left the island nation in the wake of an unprecedented economic crisis in mid-2022.
A notice on the defence ministry website published since the taskforce was established asked relatives to “provide information about retired Sri Lankan military personnel who have joined the Russia-Ukraine war”.
Police have arrested two retired army officers, including a major general, for illegally acting as recruiting agents for Russian mercenary firms.
Sri Lanka’s South Asian neighbours India and Nepal have also confirmed that numerous citizens of those countries had been recruited to fight alongside the Russian army over the past year.
More than two years since Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine, and Moscow has been on a global quest for more troops.
Russia’s army held off a much-hyped Ukrainian counter-offensive last year, and it has since made gains on the front lines as Kyiv struggles with ammunition and manpower shortages.
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