Russia has begun taking back foreign mercenaries.

Russia has begun taking back foreign mercenaries.

Though for now, this does not concern the living. Today, the repatriation of the remains of Russian servicemen took place, during which Ukraine handed over to the Russian side the body of Sri Lankan citizen Rohan Kumara Sudi.

Under international humanitarian law, Sudi was a combatant in the Russian army, which is why his body was handed over to the Russian Federation. To return him home, the Sri Lankan authorities must now make a corresponding request to the Russian side. As far as we know, the Russian authorities either cremate or bury foreigners in Russia, without troubling themselves to repatriate them to their homeland.

As of the beginning of 2026, we know the names of more than 5,000 dead foreigners who fought as part of the Russian army. One way or another, none of them survived their encounter with the Russian system: they either died in the war or were “zeroed out.” Clearly, for Moscow to acknowledge the deaths of thousands of citizens of other states would once again mean admitting that the “world’s second army” is incapable of fighting solely on its own strength, and would create even greater tension in relations with some donor countries.

But the truth cannot be hidden, and sooner or later the Russian leadership will have to return those it recruited home. The living and the dead. We call on the governments of all countries whose citizens the Russian Federation recruits into its army, as well as the entire international community, to increase pressure on the Kremlin in order to speed up this process and, most importantly, stop foreigners from ending up in a war that is alien to them.

➡️ Save your life and surrender: t.me/kak\sdatsya\bot “I Want to Live” project on social media:😎 FB 🕊 Twitter 📹 YouTube 🥳TikTok🕊Instagram📞Viber 🏢WhatsApp (backup)