“I am writing this letter from a war zone between Vesele and Rozdolivika (Russia-Ukraine) where 31 Nepali nationals are serving and living inside a bunker and damaged houses. Two have minor injuries,” a Nepali national, Tirtha Thapa (name changed), who has joined the Russian Army to fight against Ukraine, writes in a letter to Kritu Bhandari. Bhandari is leading a campaign on behalf of the families of the Nepali nationals serving in the Russian army.

“We came here due to extreme poverty in Nepal, with the support of middlemen. We joined the war to get rich quickly,” Thapa said in his letter. We harbour no resentment against Russia or Ukraine.”

The Nepalis recruited to fight for the Russians wrote that they faced a dangerous situation after getting there. “Those who have no humanity may question: who told you to go to war? But when we came to know that someone was speaking for us, we were confident of a safe return from the battlefield. We hope to return and reunite with our families,” writes Thapa.

This is reflective of the anxiety and fear of Nepalis currently serving in the Russian army as unofficial recruits.

Bhandari, a leader belonging to the CPN (Unified Socialist) that has been a part of the governing coalition for over a year, is overwhelmed by a high number of grievances related to the Nepalis in the war zone.

Milan Tuladhar, who became the ambassador to Russia from the same party, allegedly has not heeded the plight and pleas of Nepali citizens deployed to the warzone alongside Russians.

The families of the victimised Nepalis have also expressed deep anguish and frustration at the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepali Embassy in Moscow, the Home administration, and the Department of Consular Affairs, among others.

One family member of a victim told the Post on a condition of anonymity from western Nepal that they are fed up with the behaviour of government officials. “They sound rude and treat us like a second-rank citizen of this country,” said the woman who is currently in Kathmandu seeking to know the whereabouts of her husband, after suspicion was rife in the locality that he was killed in the war.

In Kathmandu, she is running from pillar to post to trace her husband. She has been staying in a lodge in the national capital with her son, who has a heart ailment. One of her relatives had pledged to provide her with the compensation offered by the Russian government. She contacted the Bhandari-led campaign and is now treating her son but her relative who promised help has vanished.

Every Nepali serving the Russians is waiting for rescue, writes Thapa. “If we had access to jobs in the country, we would not join the Russian army by putting our lives on the line.”

The death toll of the Nepali citizens who have joined the Russian Army is rising. According to Bhandari, there are confirmed reports of 39 Nepalis killed in the war that shows no sign of stopping. The Russian invasion of Ukraine has crossed two years. As per an arrangement made by the Russian government, Nepali citizens started signing up for the Russian Army mostly after May last year without approval from the government of Nepal.

“Very few Nepalis know about the war as most of those serving came here from rural areas. They do not know how to use a weapon and are unaware of combat strategies. Many of the friends said they ended up with the Russian army after human traffickers brought them here with the promise of a good job. Human traffickers are still active and they continue to dupe Nepali citizens into coming to Russia. This is how our people landed in the Russian Army,” writes Thapa in his letter.

According to him, an agent gets $1,500 to $2,500 per person trafficked into Russia. “I urge the government of Nepal to stop the trafficking of Nepali citizens via different routes.”

The government had swung into action and arrested some human traffickers in December last year. Now the crackdown has stopped completely.

Even though traffickers have lured Nepali nationals into joining a foreign army, some are raising money to bring back the bodies of those killed in the war, said Amrit Rai, the foreign ministry spokesperson. “We discovered this bizarre situation during a recent interaction with the traffickers.”

Thapa also said that only a general medical check-up is conducted before individuals are cleared to join the Russian fighting force.

“Even I have met a 52-year-old Nepali working for the Russian Army,” said Thapa, explaining that the high fatality of Nepalis in the Russian army owes to their lack of training in combat.

“After 10 days of training, people are sent to the battlefield and due to extreme cold, foreign language and geography, Nepali citizens face hardships on the battlefield. To learn the Russian language, some stay with Russian soldiers. Those same people later come to social media and make statements in broken Russian but I urge the Nepali citizens not to be influenced by such fake social media posts… I urge you all not to [come under their influence] and join this deadly war,” said Thapa, urging Nepalis to rather do something in their own villages.

Joining the army means choosing death, he said in his letter. “Our only request with the government of Nepal is to rescue us from the battlefield. We want to live, we do not want to die.”

The government has asked the Department of Consular Affairs to list the Nepalis fighting Russia’s war. Over 270 family members have appealed to the government to rescue their loved ones from Russia, according to an official at the consular affairs.

On the other hand, the task of compensating the Nepali citizens who died in the war has begun. But the process is complicated and faces delays, foreign ministry officials said. The process of compensating seven Nepali nationals killed in the war has started but officials are clueless about when this process will be completed and remaining Nepalis get relief pay.

According to Bhandari, the Russian government has also started terminating the contracts of the Nepali citizens who were serving in the war but wanted to return to the country.

Addressing the House of Representatives on March 19, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha said that Russia had agreed in principle to terminate the contracts of Nepali citizens currently serving in the Russian army.

“For this, we are yet to fix a modality. The Nepali Embassy in Russia is working out such a modality in coordination with the Russian authorities,” Shrestha told the House. The government has a daunting task of bringing its citizens back from the Russian army as over 600 Nepalis are estimated to be serving in the war against Ukraine.

Two Nepali citizens have returned to Nepal while three others have again returned to the war zone, said Bhandari. A total of 111 Nepali nationals serving in the army and in other areas have returned, she said. Those deployed in the green zone can return easily but those in the red zone cannot due to strict Russian rules.

She added that nine Nepali citizens serving in the Russian army have so far returned to the country. Bhandari’s group has listed 620 Nepali nationals who have joined the Russian army. Of them, 262 have been missing.

“If the government does not listen to our grievances, we’ll be forced to launch a street protest,” said Bhandari. They are discussing a way forward with the victims’ families.

Published on: 1 April 2024 | The Kathmandu Post