Sri Lanka has recorded the highest number of deaths among South Asians who joined the Russian army to fight against Ukraine, according to a new report by Himal Southasian.
Data provided to Himal Southasian and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) by Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the official body responsible for handling POWs and tracking foreign fighters, shows that at least 275 Sri Lankans have died in the conflict.
This figure is significantly higher than the 59 deaths acknowledged by the Sri Lankan government in February 2025.
The dataset, partly obtained from sources within the Russian military, covers the period from the start of Russia’s full‑scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 to September 2025.
It indicates that a total of 455 individuals from Sri Lanka, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan who joined Russian forces have been killed on the battlefield.
The report also highlights the struggles of widows seeking compensation for their deceased husbands, alongside the operations of illegal agents and recruitment networks that facilitated the enlistment of Sri Lankans into the Russian military. (Newswire)