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No immediate repatriation of rescued students

19 Sep 2022

BY Mirudhula Thambiah   Sources from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday (18) stated that there was no immediate decision made in regard to the repatriation of seven Sri Lankan medical students rescued by Ukrainian troops last Friday (16) in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region in Ukraine. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director General (Public Diplomacy) Sithara Khan told The Morning that the Ministry is awaiting further details regarding seven Sri Lankan medical students who had been rescued by the Ukrainian Government last Friday. “We are yet to obtain further details regarding these seven students, only then we will be able to take steps to repatriate them. We are awaiting confirmation from the Ukrainian side,” she added. Meanwhile, speaking in a video, Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy confirmed that seven Sri Lankan citizens who were being held by the Russian troops since March had been rescued from the Kharkiv region’s liberated territories last Friday. “In particular, seven citizens of the Republic of Sri Lanka, students of Kupyansk Medical College were rescued. Back in March, they had been captured by Russian soldiers and subsequently kept in a basement,” he said in the video “In the Kharkiv region, investigative actions are continuing in the areas that were liberated from Russian occupation. All crimes of Ruscists are being recorded, and evidence of their guilt is being collected. Torture chambers where civilians of occupied cities and towns were bullied, and premises where people, even foreigners, were kept have been found,” he noted. President Zelenskyy further said that the rescued people are being provided with appropriate medical assistance. Meanwhile, Ukrainian Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Yenin speaking to the Ukrainian media on 15 September stated that some peaceful foreign students of Asian citizenship had tried to leave to the territory controlled by the Government of Ukraine, but were however illegally detained and tortured by Russian military personnel. Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted last Saturday (17) that it is in close communication with the Ukrainian Government through the Sri Lanka Embassy in Ankara, which is concurrently accredited to Ukraine, as well as through the Ukrainian Embassy in New Delhi, in order to obtain further information on this matter.   Following developments in Ukraine, the Ministry has facilitated the return of over 90 Sri Lankans, including 16 students living in Ukraine, in the period February to June 2022, with the support of the Ukrainian authorities, and in co-ordination with the Sri Lankan Missions in Ankara and Warsaw.  


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