War in Ukraine: Nepalese fighters in the Russian army

Improbable and dangerous journey. Hundreds of them meet up, often on the Russian side, sometimes on the Ukrainian side, to go and fight at the front. In dozens of videos collected on social networks, the Nepalese pose in Russian uniforms. “We have very little money in Nepal, that’s why it’s very difficult, we have no choice but to join the Russian army“, explains one of them on a video. The journey begins in Kathmandu. There, videos encourage the Nepalese, for salaries of 195,000 rubles, or 1,945 euros per month, to join the Russian army. C is ten times the average salary in Nepal.

Nine times more visas for Russia

In Nepal, in 2021, 166 visas were issued for Russia, then 1,458 in 2022. 12 people involved in this trafficking were recently arrested by the Nepalese police. These men then go to Moscow (Russia) to collect their military certificate and be recruited by the Russian army. They are trained by Russian commanders for a few weeks. A man testifies to having been sent to the Ukrainian front after a month of training. Four Nepalis were taken prisoner by Ukrainian forces, eight are officially dead according to Kathmandu.