The Nepalese government has asked Russia to send back hundreds of Nepalese citizens who were illegally recruited by Russia to participate in the Russian-Ukrainian war.

The Associated Press reported on this.

The Nepalese government has also asked Russia to repatriate the bodies of those who died.

Nepal’s Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud said that the Russian army had recruited more than 200 Nepalese citizens to fight in Ukraine, and at least 14 of them were killed.

“We have asked Russia to immediately stop the recruitment of Nepali nationals in their army, immediately return those who are already serving in the army, repatriate the bodies of those killed, and treat and return those who were wounded in the fighting,” Saud said.

According to Saud, Nepal is also seeking monetary compensation from Russia for the families of those Nepali nationals who were killed in the war. Among the 14 confirmed killed Nepali nationals, Russia has said it is in possession of 12 bodies.

“We have information that five of our citizens who fought on behalf of the Russians are being held captive by the Ukraine side. We are asking the Russian side to take initiatives to get them freed,” Saud said.

Militarnyi previously reported that Police in Nepal detained ten people on suspicion of illegally recruiting the country’s residents into the Russian military.

The detainees illegally charged each person up to $9,000 and sent them to Russia on “tourist visas”, mainly through the UAE.

They were then recruited into the Russian military. In October of this year, Ukrainian troops captured a Russian mercenary from Nepal in the Avdiivka direction.

In October 2023, The New York Times reported on dozens of Nepalese who signed contracts with the Russian army and went to war in Ukraine.

Many of them did so because of low wages and unemployment in the country. The Nepalese government does not allow its citizens to serve in foreign armies, except for the armed forces of India and the United Kingdom.