Sri Lanka plans to bring hundreds of citizens back home from the war in Ukraine.
At least 800 men have been lured to the front under false promises to fight for the Russian side, the police in Sri Lanka reported. The men did not know exactly where they were or their commanders would not let them go, it said.
For this reason Sri Lankan Deputy Foreign Minister Tharaka Balasuriya is to meet a deputy of Defence Minister Andrei Belousov in Moscow next week, the Sri Lankan embassy in Moscow announced on Tuesday. He is hoping for Russian help in repatriating the men, it said.
According to police reports, most of those affected had been promised a monthly salary of 1 million to 1.5 million rupees ($3,292-$4,938) or even more for relatively secure unskilled jobs.
In reality, however, the men had been sent to the front to fight and had not received the promised money - a multiple of the usual income in Sri Lanka.
According to the police, most of the recruits are retired soldiers. So far, 20 people allegedly involved in the organization have been detained.