Sri Lanka will send a high-ranking delegation to Russia to find out the fate of hundreds of the country's citizens who are reportedly taking part in the war against Ukraine on Russia's side, Reuters quoted Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Tarak Balasuriya as saying.
Authorities have already launched an investigation into how Sri Lankans were lured to allegedly work in Russia before ending up on the frontline. Some of them have reportedly died.
Police are known to have arrested two retired policemen, one of them a high-ranking officer, accused of recruiting mercenaries for a Russian private military company.
“The main problem is determining the exact number of such persons in Russia. According to unofficial reports, there are about 600-800 Sri Lankans in Russia,” the Sri Lankan foreign minister told reporters.
Sri Lanka is going through its worst financial crisis in more than 70 years, which has caused poverty to double from pre-pandemic covida levels, with the country experiencing famine in 2023. So targeting primarily ex-servicemen with WhatsApp ad campaigns offering high salaries in Russia proved effective.
Sri Lankan authorities have repeatedly urged its citizens not to participate in the war in Ukraine on any side. Earlier it became known that Russia was recruiting mercenaries in other South Asian countries, primarily in India and Nepal.
