Total of three Sri Lankan mercenaries die Bakhmut
(COLOMBO) – Three Sri Lankan mercenaries fighting on the Ukrainian front against Russia have been killed, officials in Colombo have been told.
Officials said the three men, all former soldiers were confirmed killed during a rescue operation in Bakhmut on Monday.
The men were attached to the Ukrainian Foreign Legion and based on the frontline when they were killed in a Russian attack, the officials said.
Among the Sri Lankans killed was Captain Hewage, who was known among the Ukrainian soldiers as ‘Dentist’ because of his military skills in the battlefield.
Earlier on the 23rd of May 2022, a picture of Captain Hewage was widely circulated on many social media platforms, when he was seen flanked by two Ukrainian soldiers and holding a ‘Go Home Gota’ banner calling for the ouster of the former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa.
According to an earlier published report, Captain Hewage had served in the Sri Lanka Army as a Lieutenant and had left the service officially on the 30th of September 2012.
He had then moved to the UAE prior to joining the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine.
On February 27, 2022, just two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for “friends of Ukraine” to volunteer for the Ukrainian Territorial Defense forces, and thus was established the International Legion for the Defense of Ukraine.
According to international media reports, Andrew Ranish Hewage who was serving on the front lines of the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war was granted a promotion by the Ukrainian President for his bravery.
The details of the two other Sri Lankans killed along with Andrew Ranish Hewage in the Russian attack is yet unknown.
