At least 554 Sri Lankans have been recruited to serve in the Russian military based on data collected up to January 20, Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath said.
From data collected by Sri Lanka’s embassy in Russia 59 Sri Lankans have died. The names will be tabled in parliament.
“We have no information that they were recruited by force,” Minister Herath said.
The mercenaries, most of whom were ex-soldiers were recruited at high salaries, but some returnees have complained that they were told that would serve in logistics.
Some escapees have related horrific tales where foreign recruits are pushed out of bunkers to fight in the open and are blown up from sudden drone attacks.
Several efforts to bring back Sri Lankans from Russia and they are ongoing, he said.
Russia has recruited large numbers of foreigners after its invasion of Ukraine amid domestic opposition to conscription and draft dodging.
Large numbers were also recruited from other South Asian nations, according to reports.
(economynext.com)
(Except for the headline, this story, originally published by economynext.com has not been edited by SLM staff)
