The Russian government has requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to send DNA samples of the family members of 15 Nepalis who reportedly died while fighting against Ukrainian forces. They have been out of contact with their families for the past around five months.

Foreign ministry officials said the Russian government made the request on March 6 for the identification of the bodies. Acting on the same, the ministry’s Department of Consular Services has already contacted the concerned families.

The fifteen individuals—Tika Bahadur Ranamagar of Tehrathum, Jit Bahadur Pun Magar and Abhishek Budha of Dang, Chandra Bahadur BC of Banke, Ghanashyam Shahi of Morang, Prem Bahadur Kathayat of Achham, Khem Bahadur Bhujel of Okhaldhunga, Bimal Kumar Gajmer of Dhanusha, Prem Prakash Neupane and Bhim Bahadur BC of Nawalparasi, Kshitij Basnet of Khotang, Somesh Sunwar and Bikash Rai of Pyuthan, and Jitendra Bahadur Ghising and Bijay Bahadur Thokar of Makwanpur–have been out of contact for the past five months.

According to Thokar’s wife Harimaya of Makawanpur, her husband had last contacted her on October 23, 2023. “Before being deployed in the red zone, he [Thokar] had said that he may be out of contact for a week,” Harimaya told the Post.

Thokar, who was working as a home mason in Kathmandu, had spent Rs800,000 to go to Russia.

Similarly, 34-year-old Kshitij Basnet, who had been working as a security guard in the United Arab Emirates for four years, had travelled to Russia directly from the Middle East nation.

“He had sent a text at 8:47 am on October 19 last year before he left for Luhansk in Ukraine,” said Basnet’s wife Anjali. He has yet to make any contact since.

Bimal Kumar Gajmer, who was recruited in the same battalion as Basnet, has also been missing since October 11, 2023. The nine-member squad reportedly includes seven Nepalis and two Egyptian nationals.

Over 200 family members have registered separate complaints at the Department of Consular Services for the rescue of their relatives serving in the Russian army. Ninety-six Nepalis fighting on the Russian front lines are reportedly out of contact.

Nepal has already made clear that it does not allow its citizens to be recruited into any foreign army other than those it has signed bilateral agreements with in this connection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement earlier.

The government, in two different notices issued earlier, asked its citizens not to visit Russia without taking a ‘no-objection’ letter from the Department of Consular Affairs.

On March 7, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha had a phone conversation with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov and discussed the issue of Nepali citizens serving in the Russian army.

During the talk, the Russian minister pledged to act on the requests of the kin of Nepalis serving in the Russian forces.

Shrestha requested Lavrov to expedite the repatriation of dead Nepalis, compensate the families of the deceased and facilitate the return of Nepali citizens serving in the Russian army, according to the foreign ministry. Russian authorities have agreed to provide compensation to the victims’ families.

Kirtu Bhandari, who leads a campaign on behalf of the families of the Nepali nationals serving in the Russian Army, informed the Post that “as many as 116 Nepalis are injured, 274 have gone missing, and over 620 have joined the Russian army”.

In an interview with the state-owned National News Agency, the then foreign minister NP Saud in January had said the number could be much higher, adding that the ministry has received complaints that around 100 Nepalis serving in the Russian army were either missing and injured while battling Ukrainian forces.

Published on: 21 March 2024 | The Kathmandu Post