Many Sri Lankan mercenaries fighting in the Ukraine front have become Russian citizens, making it difficult to give them diplomatic support, Foreign Minister Ali Sabry said.
So far 446 complaints have been lodged by family members asking for government help to bring back menfolk trapped in the Ukraine warfront, he said.
“They have taken Russian citizenship at the moment,” Sabry told reporters on Friday explaining the difficulties faced by Sri Lanka in getting back citizens.
He said “many” appeared to have become Russian citizens.
“If you take another country’s citizenship you lose Sri Lankan citizenship, so if you are no longer a citizen of Sri Lanka we lose the right to represent you, that is the problem, unless they apply for dual citizenship,” Minister Sabry said.
While some appeared to have been misled that they would be camp helpers in support roles and pushed into combat, others may have known the actual stakes involved, he said.
Sri Lankans have been recruited to fight for Russia in the Russia-Ukraine war being promised a large, salary, Russian citizenship, compensation for death and injury.
Returnees have estimated that around 800 Sri Lankans were working for mercenary companies in Russia and perhaps 200 had died.
Minister Sabry said he was unable to confirm the numbers.