The Nepalese government has banned its citizens from traveling to Russia and Ukraine to work after 10 young people died and dozens more went missing during fighting, mostly in the Russian army.
As The Guardian writes, citing data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, after a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, more than 200 Nepalese soldiers were drafted into the ranks of the Russian army, and more than 100 of them went missing. A smaller number are believed to be fighting in the Ukrainian army.
— The issuance of work permits in Russia and Ukraine has been temporarily suspended until further measures are taken to minimize potential risks and losses for Nepalese citizens entering these war-torn countries, — reported by Kabiraj Upreti, Director, Overseas Employment Department, State Broadcaster RSS.
The extreme losses have prompted demands from Kathmandu not to send Nepalese fighters to either side of the conflict, and to repatriate the remains of the dead and pay compensation to their families.
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From Nepal — to war
As the British publication notes, Nepalese soldiers have fought for generations in the armies of Great Britain and India, where Gurkha units served mainly as infantry and performed special functions. Thousands of Nepalese also served as contractors and security guards during the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
But increasingly, smugglers are transporting young Nepalese to the Russian-Ukrainian war, where many are offered fast-track citizenship or wages far greater than they could earn at home. In December, twelve people were arrested in Nepal for smuggling some 150-200 men into Russia, charging them $9,000 to enter Russia on tourist visas and then forcing them to enlist in the Russian military.
Rupak Karki, one of two Nepalese buried at a military grave in Russia's Ivanovo region, sought work in South Korea and then traveled to Russia on a student visa. He later joined the Russian invasion of Ukraine, hoping to gain Russian citizenship and a bigger salary, his relatives told the Nepali Times. He told his family he would undergo six months of training, but was sent into service and declared killed in action much earlier.
— There is still shock and confusion here. Rupak's parents cannot believe that their only son died without seeing his body, — one of the uncles of the deceased Nepalese told the newspaper.
Captured Soldier Bibek Khatrisaid in a video posted on social networks that he joined the Russian army because his family needed money and he wanted to return home “a successful man”.
Russia is looking for personnel for the war with Ukraine
At the same time, The Guardian notes that tens of thousands of Nepalese citizens seek work abroad every year, many of them working as unskilled workers in South Korea, Malaysia and the Middle East. To leave Nepal for employment, they must obtain a work permit from the government.
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The Nepalese government's decision comes just a day after Vladimir Putin signed a decree that will speed up the acquisition of citizenship for hundreds of foreigners conscripted into the Russian army, providing an additional incentive to participate in combat as Russia, and Ukraine are trying to solve the problem of personnel shortage.
The new decree will expedite decisions on granting citizenship to foreigners who have served in the Russian army or paramilitary organizations for a period of at least one year, and will also give the right to their immediate relatives to also apply for citizenship.
Hundreds of migrant workers from Central Asia, as well as foreigners from Cuba, Serbia and several African countries, have also been documented as soldiers in the Russian army.
The Nepali government previously called on Russia to return the bodies of at least six soldiers killed in the war against Ukraine since February 2022, and demanded Russia pay compensation to their families.
The Nepalese government said four more soldiers were captured by Ukraine.
