An additional 15 Nepali mercenaries have died in the war in Ukraine. According to Kantipur, the Russian government has asked Nepal to send samples of the close relatives of the deceased.
With this, the Government of Nepal has so far officially confirmed the deaths of 32 Nepalis. At least 96 Nepalis remain out of touch with their families and are feared to have died, according to government officials.
President Vladimir Putin of Russia authorized a “Special Military Operation” against Ukraine on February 24, 2022.
Anecdotes from Nepalis active in the Russian Army and those who have managed to return confirm that the underlying motivation for them was primarily a pursuit of better economic opportunities and Russian citizenship for themselves and their families.
Nepali youths’ journeys to Russia have had diverse routes. As former Foreign Minister Saud admitted, a large number of the Nepalis “who went to Russia for work, study, and visit have joined the Army.”
But this is only a partial picture; according to the Nepali recruits’ stories, it was not just those who had been to Russia for work, study, or visit who ended up joining the Russian Army; Nepali youths were actively seeking and obtaining labor permits to go to Russia—up until January 4, 2024, when the labor department finally stopped issuing labor permits for Russia and Ukraine.
According to the report by Ukaalo, over 600 people had obtained labor permits for Russia in less than a year and a half.
This number is just of those who went from Nepal to Russia explicitly with labor permits. There is no accurate account of the Nepali citizens who traveled to Russia from third countries. In all of these, a network of agents facilitated the journey, whereas Russian Embassies seem to have fast-tracked the VISA-granting process. On December 5, 2023, the Nepali Police arrested 12 people from Kathmandu, who were involving in sending Nepalis to Russia