News
Lankan mercenaries fighting on both sides of Russia-Ukraine war
By Norman Palihawadane
The CID is investigating a human trafficking network enabling Lankan ex servicemen to fight as mercenaries in both sides of the Russia-Ukraine war, Police headquarters sources said on Friday.
According to information confirmed by the investigators, at least five such mercenaries have been killed in the fighting. There were two confirmed deaths of Lankans fighting for Russia in Dontesk and at least three other Lankans were killed fighting for Ukraine, SSP WM Samarakoon Banda Director – Human Trafficking Smuggling Investigation and Maritime Crime Investigation told the Sunday Island.
The SSP said that the State Intelligence Service had found names of 30 Lankans who had already left the country to join foreign legions of the Ukrainian and Russian armies and 36 names and addresses of others who were making arrangements to leave the country.
The SIS had submitted its report on the findings to Defence Secretary Kamal Gunaratne who later tasked the CID Director, DIG Rohan Premaratne with further investigations, SSP Banda said.
He said that the CID commenced tracking networks of ex-servicemen and local foreign employment agents engaged in this activity. The CID arrested two suspects who were operating a foreign employment agency in Kadawatha in the first week of this month on charges of trafficking individuals to conflict zones in Ukraine. The recruits had deposited one million rupees each to a bank account owned by a female who runs this employment agency.
It has been found that the ex-servicemen had left for Ukraine and Russia on tourist visas. They had been initially taken to New Delhi after which they were taken to Poland and then to Ukraine through Azerbaijan. Out of the 55 individuals who had taken this route recently, 23 had been able to join the Ukraine Army’s foreign legion.
The 55 Lankans who left the country on Aug 16, 2023 comprised 27 ex-army personnel, eight former naval ratings, seven ex-Air Force members and 13 civilians.
Of these 55 individuals, 32 were stranded. Some of them found other jobs in Poland, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Italy while nine of them returned. Those returnees were among 17 who had been taken into custody so far.
Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, reporting the latest death of a Lankan mercenary in Ukraine, said last Thursday that hundreds of Lankans are now serving with the Russian military in Ukraine. He is reportedly the second Sri Lankan to have been killed fighting for Russia in Dontesk, according to the Al Jazeera report (Please read Page 11)
The confirmed identities of some the dead were Capt Ranish Hewage (ex-Army Commando), MM Priyantha (ex-SLAF) and Rodney Jayasinghe (ex-Army). Hewage was buried east of Kyiv but the bodies of the other two Lankans were never recovered.
A meeting between President Anura Kumara Disanayake and Admiral Samuel J. Paparo, the Commander of the United States Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM), was held today (21) at the Presidential Secretariat.
During the discussion, Admiral Paparo extended his best wishes to President Disanayake and the new government on their planned initiatives. He also acknowledged Sri Lanka’s continued support in ensuring the security of the Indian Ocean region and maintaining a peaceful maritime environment.
Furthermore, Admiral Paparo reaffirmed the United States’ commitment to strengthening the enduring bilateral ties between the two nations and expressed support for Sri Lanka’s new governmental policies.
President Disanayake conveyed his appreciation for the assistance provided by the United States in enhancing human resources within Sri Lanka’s defence sector. The President also acknowledged the longstanding support extended by the U.S. in this regard.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Vijitha Herath, Senior Additional Secretary to the President Roshan Gamage, U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka Julie Chung, Lieutenant Colonel Anthony C. Nelson of the U.S. Army, and Senior Foreign Policy Advisor to the United States Indo-Pacific Command David Ranz were also present at the meeting.
SriLankan Airlines has announced that SriLankan Airlines flights UL 503 (Colombo to London Heathrow), scheduled to depart at 12:50 hrs and UL 504 (London Heathrow to Colombo), scheduled to depart at 20:40 hrs today [21 March 2025], have been cancelled.
Passengers requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the SriLankan Airlines Customer Centre at 1979 (within Sri Lanka), +94117 77 1979 (international) or +94744 44 1979 (WhatsApp chat) or reach out to their nearest SriLankan Airlines office or their travel agent.
The United Kingdom’s Heathrow airport has closed until midnight on Friday due to a power outage, throwing the plans of tens of thousands of travellers into chaos.
London’s main airport, which is Europe’s busiest gateway, said on Friday that it had suffered a “significant” power failure due to a fire at an electrical substation supplying the facility.
“To maintain the safety of our passengers and colleagues, Heathrow will be closed until 23h59 on 21 March,” Heathrow airport said in a post on X.
“Passengers are advised not to travel to the airport and should contact their airline for further information. We apologise for the inconvenience.”
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 said the shutdown would affect “at least” 1,351 flights.
“We’re trying to stop passengers from travelling to the airport, and then work with airline partners on flights that are delayed, diverted, or cancelled,” a Heathrow spokesperson told Al Jazeera. “Passengers can reach out to airline partners to work on rebooking.”
Al Jazeera’s Jonah Hull, reporting from London, said the roads leading to the airport were blocked, causing “traffic chaos locally”.
“But local traffic disruption is nothing compared to the air traffic disruptions that will be spreading around the world,” he said.
Heathrow is one of the most globally connected airports and regularly ranks among the top five busiest gateways worldwide.
The airport serves more than 200 destinations in nearly 90 different countries and territories, and last year handled nearly 84 million passengers, the largest number on record.
[Aljazeera]
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