State Minister’s clarification on seven Sri Lankans rescued from Russian captivity

The seven Sri Lankans in Ukraine who were allegedly captured and tortured by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv region are not medical students, State Minister of Foreign Affairs Tharaka Balasuriya confirmed.

Earlier today (Sep. 19), a journalist from Kyiv and Kharkiv region’s police disclosed appalling details about the torture the seven victims had to endure while in captivity of the Russian soldiers.

Addressing the media, State Minister Balasuriya explained that the group of Sri Lankans in question were in an attempt to travel to Europe illegally.

He also explained that all Sri Lankans in Ukraine who wished to return to Sri Lanka were expatriated at the outset of the Russian invasion.

Detailing the victims’ time in Russian captivity, Serhii Bolvinov, head of the Investigative Department of the National Police in the Kharkiv region, said they had been kept in inhuman conditions, and were forced to work as cleaners. He added that the woman was kept in solitary confinement for two months.

On 16 September, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that seven Sri Lankan citizens who had been held captive by the Russian soldiers since March were rescued in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region.