How Russia is luring thousands of Nepalese to the front
Russia uses thousands of Nepalese in its war against Ukraine. Primarily young men from the South Asian country are lured with substantial money and then used as cannon fodder at the front.
The Ukraine front is 4000 kilometers away and there is no common border with Russia. Nepal has no direct connection to the war in Eastern Europe. However, thousands of young Nepalese men have joined the Russian military due to this. In April, CNN reported that 15,000 Nepalese had already joined the Russian military.
The Kremlin attracts the largely young men from impoverished backgrounds with relatively large sums of money: they receive $2000 per month, along with the possibility of fast naturalization in Russia. Nepal's per capita Gross National Product, according to the latest World Bank survey, was only around $1400.
Many Nepalese see no future in their homeland. There are few job opportunities, and more and more people are leaving to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Every day, 3000 young people leave to work or study abroad. Most go to the Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, or the United Arab Emirates, according to the IPG-Journal, a specialist publication of the Friedrich-Ebert Foundation. Some also go to Europe or the USA.
"Secret Agreements between Recruitment Agencies"
However, not all seek their fortunes as labor migrants in the Gulf or elsewhere. The financially lucrative deployment as soldiers in the war also attracts some Nepalese. Therefore, they are susceptible to recruitment agents of the Russian army. "The way the recruitments are taking place suggests secret agreements between recruitment agencies - with covert support from Russian and Nepalese government agencies," writes the IPG-Journal.
The recruited soldiers then travel - usually with stopovers in India or the United Arab Emirates - to Moscow. Here, they undergo a physical examination in a recruitment center. Then, the recruits sign a one-year contract with the military and receive a Russian bank account to which their monthly salary is transferred. They could never earn such large sums of money in Nepal. Therefore, many are tempted to risk their lives in the dangerous war deployment.
Nepalese Soldiers as Cannon Fodder
CNN traced the journey of Nepalese soldiers to the front through the social media profiles of ten recruits. According to CNN's report, these recruits receive a type of crash course in a military academy near Moscow. Here, they learn how to handle rocket launchers, machine guns, bombs, drones, and tanks. A Nepalese recruit recounts that in the academy, people from Africa and Asia are primarily trained - he met comrades from India, Afghanistan, Egypt, and the Congo.
After basic training, it seems that foreign soldiers, including Nepalese, are headed to another military base nearby for specialized training. Following that, they are sent to the front. There, they are often just cannon fodder.
A Nepalese soldier quoted by CNN stated, "The Nepalese and other foreigners are fighting at the front, the Russians are a few hundred meters behind as support." Some of his friends, he said, were "mistreated" by their commander when they "expressed concerns."
Moreover, there is a language barrier between Russian commanders and Nepalese soldiers. "Sometimes we couldn't even understand where we were supposed to go and in which direction the weapons should be pointed."
Pressure on the Nepalese Government
The exact number of Nepalese fighting in Ukraine for Russia is not officially known. The Nepalese government claims that there are only around 200 young men in action for the Kremlin troops. Of these, over a dozen have been killed. Four Nepalese are currently in Ukrainian custody.
However, opposition and human rights activists are convinced that the government figures are far too low. They report that thousands of Nepalese are fighting in the war. Families of recruits have now come together to put pressure on the government. The group already has over 2,000 registered members, from families whose men have been sent to fight for Russia.
The pressure on the government has led to Nepalese no longer being allowed to travel to Russia for work. Stricter visa regulations have also been implemented for countries like the United Arab Emirates. Nepal aims to prevent people from going to Russia via third countries. This seems to be helping: The number of departures has decreased.
However, Nepal wants Russia to proactively repatriate Nepalese citizens from the front lines. Moscow, however, opposes this and claims that the soldiers do not want to return to Nepal.
- Despite Nepal having no direct involvement in the conflict, news outlets like CNN have reported that over 15,000 Nepalese men have joined the Russian military, lured by substantial financial incentives and the promise of quick naturalization, as the country's per capita GDP is significantly lower.
- As reported by the IPG-Journal, some of these Nepalese men are recruited through secret agreements between Russian and Nepalese recruitment agencies, which raises concerns about potential covert involvement and exploitation by both governments.
- The use of Nepalese soldiers as cannon fodder in the conflict has been a major concern, with a Nepalese soldier quoted by CNN stating that they often face mistreatment, a language barrier, and confusion about their deployment and weapon usage, making them vulnerable on the front lines.
