COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka and Russia will begin talks Thursday to resolve the issue of Sri Lankans fighting alongside Russians in the war against Ukraine after at least 16 people were reported missing.
Junior Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya said the Sri Lankans, mostly retired soldiers, had been tricked into traveling to Russia with promises of good salaries and privileges, including Russian citizenship.
“The situation in Russia is very unfortunate,” Balasuriya told reporters, adding that he is working with the Defense Ministry to determine the number of people fighting in Russia.
“We have received 455 complaints; We think this number could be much higher.”
“They have been duped by certain nefarious agents, some of these people have been arrested. People who have gone to Russia have been promised certain salaries and privileges, including citizenship,” Balasuriya said.
The officers who recruited Sri Lankans had told them they would not be deployed in combat, but complaints are now coming in daily that they are being sent to the war front in Ukraine, the minister said.
Russian Ambassador to Sri Lanka Levan S. Dzhagaryan said talks in Moscow will be the first step to resolve the issue.
“My President, my President Putin has made it clear many times that (if) a foreigner wants to voluntarily join, I underline, voluntarily join the Russian Armed Forces, there is no objection, because look on the (other) side how much mercenaries are fighting for Ukraine, from different countries…’ Dzhagaryan said.
Sri Lanka has had a large military for the past forty years due to the long civil war that ended in 2009. Thousands of soldiers retire from service every year.
An unprecedented economic crisis since 2022 has forced many people to look for work abroad and there are widespread reports of human trafficking and deception by fake labor agents.
