Ukraine war

According to the media: 15,000 Nepalese are fighting for Russia

This young Nepalese man survived on the front line, but warns his compatriots against joining the Russian army: "Don't go!"(Bild: APA/AFP/Prakash MATHEMA)

Since the beginning of the year, the Kremlin has been trying even harder to recruit foreign fighters who can be sent to Ukraine. Those interested can expect a salary of at least 2,000 dollars (around 1,900 euros) a month and Russian citizenship. As has now become known, around 15,000 Nepalese are likely to have answered the call.

This is according to a report by the Ukrainian news agency Ukrinform, which refers to the US broadcaster CNN. According to the report, CNN journalists spoke to mercenaries who had returned from the Ukrainian front and to relatives of people fighting for the Russian army.

According to CNN, the Nepalese passport is one of the worst in the world in terms of global mobility, and the country in the Himalayas is one of the poorest in the world. According to the Nepalese government, around 200 Nepalese citizens are fighting for the Russian army. So far, at least 13 Nepalese have been killed in the war zone. According to the Nepalese Foreign Ministry, four Nepalese fighters are currently being held as prisoners of war by Ukraine. 

A Nepalese mercenary shows an injury he suffered on the front line.(Bild: APA/AFP/Prakash MATHEMA)

Thousands of Nepalese families fear for their loved ones
However, human rights activists in Nepal believe that the actual numbers are higher. A prominent Nepalese opposition MP, former Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal, also said last week that between 14,000 and 15,000 Nepalese were probably fighting for Russia on the front line.

This young Nepalese survived on the front line, but warns his compatriots against joining the Russian army: "Don't go!"(Bild: APA/AFP/Prakash MATHEMA)

Kritu Bhandari, a politician and social activist living in Kathmandu, has since become the leader of a group of family members of Nepalese men fighting in Russia. She explained that around 2000 families had contacted her in recent weeks asking for help to either get in touch with their missing relatives or bring them home to the small South Asian country. Many of them have had no contact with their loved ones for weeks or months.

Nepalese protest against the recruitment of their compatriots for the Russian army.(Bild: APA/AFP/Prakash MATHEMA)

Mercenaries from Afghanistan, India, Congo and Egypt?
A Nepalese soldier in Russia, who did not want to be named for security reasons, told CNN that he had trained on rocket launchers, bombs, machine guns, drones and tanks during his stay in the training camp. The soldier spoke of fellow cadets from across the global south. He mentioned Afghan, Indian, Congolese and Egyptian comrades, among others.

Group photos posted on social media show dozens of apparently South Asian soldiers with Russian instructors. Several returned Nepalese fighters accused Russia in CNN interviews of using them as "cannon fodder" in the war. Meanwhile, the Nepalese government has banned compatriots from working in Russia.