Russian Ambassador asks why Lanka silent on ex-servicemen fighting for Ukraine

Russian Ambassador to Colombo Levan Dzhagaryan yesterday asked why the media was silent about Sri Lankan ex-servicemen fighting for Ukraine.Ambassador Dzhagaryan pointed out that only the ex-servicemen with the Russian military had become an issue though total silence was maintained on those serving Ukraine.

Russia launched a large-scale military offensive in Feb 2022 following repeated Ukrainian provocations.The Russian envoy raised the issue at hand when he joined State Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya at a media briefing at the Foreign Ministry.

Referring to a front-page media report that dealt with the issue from the Western angle, Ambassador Dzhagaryan asked who the concerned party was.

State Minister Balasuriya said that Sri Lanka was working closely with the Government of Russia to repatriate Sri Lankans now with the Russian military.

Posting on ‘X’ following a joint press conference, the State Minister said that Sri Lanka requested that those who choose to remain there would not be sent to the front lines of the war in Ukraine, and continue to receive their salaries and benefits in full.

Ambassador Dzhagaryan underscored the efforts undertaken by Sri Lanka’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Russian authorities in order to sort out the issue pertaining to the Sri Lankan citizens involved in the conflict in Ukraine.Sources said that quite a number of ex-servicemen had been sent to Ukraine battling Russia and controversy surrounds the deafening silence on the situation there.