(LANKAPUVATH | COLOMBO) –Seven Sri Lankan citizens who had been held by the invading Russian forces since March in the Kharkiv region of Ukraine have been rescued, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has told media.
President Zelenskyy in a video address Friday has said that the civilians held captive by the Russian forces were found in the liberated territories of the Kharkiv region and the Seven Sri Lankan citizens were among the rescued civilians, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
“Torture chambers where civilians of occupied cities and towns were bullied and premises where people, even foreigners, were kept have been found,” President Zelenskyy has said.
“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.”
“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.
He said these people were rescued after the liberation of the Kharkiv region, and they are being provided with proper medical care.
On 15 September, Yevhen Yenin, Deputy Interior Minister, has reported that citizens of an Asian country, being peaceful foreign students, tried to leave for territory controlled by the Ukrainian government but were stopped by Russian military personnel, illegally detained, and tortured.
