Sri Lankans describe abuse as Russian captives in Ukraine
Seven Sri Lankans held captive by Russian forces in an agricultural factory in eastern Ukraine say they were beaten and tortured for months before escaping on foot as the Russians withdrew from the Kharkiv region
By LORI HINNANT and KRISHAN FRANCIS
Published - Sep 24, 2022, 11:32 AM ET
Last Updated - Jun 24, 2023, 07:24 AM EDT
KHARKIV, Ukraine (AP) — A group of Sri Lankans held captive by Russian forces in an agricultural factory in eastern Ukraine said Saturday that they were beaten and abused for months before escaping on foot as the Russians withdrew from the Kharkiv region this month.
Recounting their ordeal to reporters in Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, one of the seven Sri Lankans said he was shot in the foot; another had his toenail ripped off and was slammed in the head with the butt of a rifle.
Ukrainian officials described their treatment as torture.
“Every day we were cleaning toilets and bathrooms,” Dilukshan Robertclive, one of the former captives, said in English. “Some days Russians came and beat our people, our Sri Lanka people.”
