Sri Lanka, June 4 -- The onset of the Ukrainian war in 2014 created significant manpower challenges, prompting both Russia and Ukraine to recruit former soldiers from various nations. This situation has led to the involvement of numerous ex-combatants and military personnel from Sri Lanka, driven largely by the country's severe economic conditions. Many veterans have unfortunately become targets for human trafficking networks and misleading social media campaigns that promote lucrative, non-combat positions. As a result, a considerable number of individuals have travelled to the conflict zone to enlist in either the Russian or Ukrainian armed forces.

Initially, the agents assured recruits that their roles would be limited to non-combat p...