ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka should make greater efforts to bring back citizens in mercenary companies who injured in a war between Russia and Ukraine, including sending a special presidential envoy, legislator Dayasiri Jayasekera said.
At the moment there is no Sri Lanka ambassador in Russia.
“If we can, send a special envoy from the President to Russia, and discuss with the Defence Secretary at least to bring back the injured in Russian hospitals,” Jayasekera who was one of the first legislators to bring attention to the growing recruitment of Sri Lankan ex-soldiers for Russia’s war.
“There are many injured Sri Lankans in Russia. Some have lost their fingers, in others legs have been cut (kakul kaperla).
“Then we can secondly bring back the people in the camps. There is a diplomatic intervention that is needed. We need some plan to bring back the 600 or so people who are there.”
One Sri Lanka ex-soldier estimated that 200 to 300 Sri Lankans may be treated in Russian hospitals at the moment and about 200 may have died. Up to 800 or more Sri Lankans – mainly ex-soldiers – may have left the country to fight for Russia, he said.
Related Over 200 Sri Lanka ex-soldiers dead in Russia-Ukraine frontline as drone fodder, escapee says
How Many?
Authorities are still trying to find out how many left for Russia and Ukraine.
Assistant Superintend Harendrda Janakantha of the Human Trafficking and Maritime Crimes unit of Sri Lanka’s Criminal Investigation Department told Derana Television last week that they confirmed that 60 Sri Lankans have left for Russia and 54 tried to leave for Ukraine, and 23 made it.
“People can say that there are 800 to 1,000,” Janakantha said. “May be that is also possible. But so far these are numbers we have confirmed through our investigations.
So far only three are confirmed to have returned, he said.
“There is information that that about 700 to 800 have left,” Senior Superintended Nihal Thalduwa said.
“But we cannot say that. We are still investigating. We have only recently started the investigation.
“Large numbers (visharler sankyawak) are injured and large numbers have died.”
A retired Major General who was involved in an recruitment drive has already been arrested.
Shadowy PMCs
Several Private Military Companies (PMCs) including Wagner, at one time headed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who who was killed in a plane crash shortly after a mutiny against Russian President Vladimir Putin are recruiting convicts and foreigners to fight the war against Ukraine.
All Wagner fighters who are willing to continue to fight for Russia were given new contracts, reports said at the time.
Several other shadowy PMCs including Redut, believed to be under Russian intelligence agency GRU, are recruiting mercenaries, according to western media reports.
Ukrainian researchers who interviewed captured mercenaries and seized documents left behind in regained territories found that mercenaries were promised a salary of 200,000 roubles (about 653,000 rupees at current exchange rates), 25,000 dollar for grave injury and 60,000 compensation for death.
Sri Lanka returnee have said salaries of 700,000 rupees Sri Lanka a month or more but the promised amount has not been given.
The mercenary firms are financed by the Russian defence ministry and according to Western reports, and are set up to provide veneer of distance and deniability.
After his mutiny Wagner fighters were given a chance to sign fresh contracts with the Russian Defence Ministry, reports said at the time.
When Prigozhin was alive, Wagner was said be recruiting mercenaries including convicts on 6-month contracts, after which they were set free.
But Sri Lankans who have now come back to the country say they have been recruited on 12-month contracts.
A BBC report said half of prisoners recruited when Prigozhin lived at least 4 months before dying in combat. However half of those recruited by the Russian Defence Ministry died within three months.
Prigozhin went public had he had lost 22,000 fighters in taking back Bakmut from Ukraine.
Suicide Missions
An escaped soldier who was interviewed on Sri Lanka’s Derana television said there was no medivac process to recover injured foreign mercenaries and they had to crawl back to Russian position on their own as drones rained fire on them as soon as they moved.
If they got back, they were taken to hospital, given a one-month break and send back to the front, one escaped soldier said.
One soldier described the operations as ‘suicide missions’ done under drone fire with little outside support.
The escaped fighter was serving in the Donetsk region which has Russian speakers, which declared independence and was is operating as a separate republic loosely annexed to Russia.
Several teams were recruiting people from Sri Lanka charging between 350,000 to 1.6 million rupees according to what returnees say.
State Minister for Defence Pramith Tennakoon said Jayasekera and Gamini Valeboda, another legislator who had helped bring national attention to the plight of the Sri Lankan took part in a National Security Council meeting at the invitation of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.
“Instructions were given immediately to the forces to take action,” Tennakoon said. “As a result several arrests were made.”
Sri Lanka has already arrested a retired Major-General and a Sergeant Major several who who are suspected to have recruited Sri Lankan ex-soldiers.
Sri Lankan retired soldiers are made various false promises including Russian citizenship, a piece of land in St Petersberg as well as high salaries and sign up bonuses of 2.0 million rupees, he said. (Colombo/May14/2024)