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)

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Three army personnel have been hospitalized following an accident caused by the explosion of a hand grenade during a military training exercise.

The incident reportedly occurred this morning (29) at the Maduru Oya Army Training Camp.

According to hospital sources, the injured soldiers have been admitted to the Polonnaruwa Hospital and their condition is not critical.

It is reported that they had sustained injuries to their legs.

The accident took place during a joint military exercise currently being conducted between the Sri Lanka Army and the Russian Army. (Newswire)

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Two Sri Lankan UN peacekeepers in Lebanon have sustained minor injuries after a nearby village was targeted by an Israeli airstrike, the Sri Lanka Military said. 

Army Spokesman Major General Rasika Kumara told Newswire that the two Sri Lankan Soldiers had been at a United Nations Base in Naqoura village, at the time of the incident.

He said the airstrikes had struck the village close to the base during which shrapnel had hit the two Sri Lankan Soldiers who were taking cover in a nearby bunker.

Stating that the soldiers had sustained minor injuries, the Army Spokesman said that they were being treated at the hospital in the UN base. 

Meanwhile, issuing a statement on the attack, the United Nations Office said the UN Interim Force in Lebanon’s (UNFIL) Naqoura headquarters and nearby positions were repeatedly hit.

“This morning, two peacekeepers were injured after an IDF Merkava tank fired its weapon toward an observation tower at UNIFIL’s headquarters in Naqoura, directly hitting it and causing them to fall. The injuries are fortunately, this time, not serious, but they remain in hospital,” the UN mission statement said.

UN peacekeepers are present in south Lebanon to support a return to stability under a 2006 Security Council mandate. Any deliberate attack on peacekeepers is a grave violation of international humanitarian law and of Security Council resolution 1701, according to UNIFIL. (Newswire)

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