The government is unaware of the Nepalis who have joined the Russian army

However, Nepal has opened a Nepali embassy in Moscow after spending millions of rupees. Where Milan Tuladhar is working as the Nepali ambassador to Russia.

But neither the Nepali embassy in Moscow knows about the situation of Nepalese, nor has the Russian government given any concrete information from the Nepali embassy in Kathmandu. In the war that started on February 24, 2022, Russia has been recruiting Nepalis by making illegal agreements. Even though it was known that Nepalis were recruited into the Russian army after the war, even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not have information about when, where and how many Nepalis were recruited. In the crisis and difficult situation in the country, it seems that the situation is the same as in the beginning in the case of having to untie the knot through diplomatic initiatives. Apart from compensating the families of the deceased, Russia has not yet been able to provide any information to the Nepalese government about the Nepali citizens.

Former Ambassador Prof. Vijayakant Karna believes that both the Nepalese government and the Russian government are responsible for the fact that the Nepalese government is still unaware of the Nepalis who have joined the Russian army. According to him, Russia made it clear that Nepal is not counted. There is no coordination and integrated working style among government agencies in Nepal. Even now, Nepali citizens are being sent to Russia through corruption from various government offices,' he said, 'Russian youths are not ready to join their army, which is why they are taking youths from countries like Nepal.' They think that they should understand about their citizens. He added, "Otherwise, Nepal will have to raise its voice against Russia in multilateral forums including the UN."

The Campaign to Save the Life of Nepalese Affiliated to the Russian Army has claimed that 39 Nepalis have died in the war so far. Kritu Bhandari, coordinator of the campaign, informed that the number was calculated on the basis of the family's work. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha has been mentioning that he is serious about the situation of Nepalis in the Russian army. "We are trying our best from our side. We are taking initiatives from all sides to benefit our citizens," he said.

According to Shrestha, the Nepali side should cooperate with the Russian side to send the bodies of Nepalis who died in the war to Nepal, to provide compensation to the families of the Nepali who died in the war, to send back all those who were injured in the war and joined the Russian army, not to recruit Nepalis in the Russian army, in the Russian army He made it clear that he has requested to inform the Nepal government about the number of recruited Nepalis, to inform about those who joined the Russian army and were captured by the Ukrainian army, and to arrange a high-level visit. But from the Russian side, no other answer has been received except that we will send the bodies to Nepal and compensate the families of the deceased.

Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha had a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on February 24. He emphasized the same thing with the Russian side in the conversation. But even then, Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov did not want to discuss other issues even though Russia was ready to compensate the families of those killed during the war. In his conversation with Lavrov, Shrestha asked him to visit Nepal from Russia or visit Russia from Nepal if possible.

According to diplomatic sources, Russia has stopped recruiting Nepalis after continuous initiatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. "Nepal has talked about canceling the contract agreement of Nepalis and returning them and giving them compensation. In which Russia is positive," the source said, "We are ready to save with all our resources. Discussions focused on reparations and returns. There is also a separate diplomatic dialogue with Ukraine.'

Before that, the then Foreign Minister NP Saud had also told the Russian side that he was ready to visit Moscow to understand the situation of Nepalis. But no positive message came from Moscow. The situation is still the same. Regarding the use of Nepalis in the Russian army, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement for the first time on July 16, stating that there is no policy to allow them to join the foreign army except some friendly countries (India and Britain) under the traditional agreement. Nepal also informed Russia about that.

Again on last November 18, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that it had sent a diplomatic note to Russia asking 'not to recruit Nepali citizens into the Russian army and if it is done, to return them to Nepal immediately'. The Nepalese Ambassador to Russia also went to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs there and conveyed the message of the Government of Nepal. The ambassador requested that the contracts of the Nepalis recruited in the Russian army be canceled and sent to Nepal. Ambassador Alexey Novikov was summoned in the third week of November and the Nepal government drew his attention and also handed over a diplomatic note.

After that, last time on December 4, the then Foreign Minister Saud called the Russian Ambassador to Nepal Novikov and asked him not to send the Nepalis to the 'Red Zone' without full training and to return the Nepalis there as soon as possible. After that, during the 19th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Kampala, the capital of Uganda, during the 19th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement, the then Foreign Minister NP Saud expressed his displeasure on behalf of Nepal in his meeting with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Versinin Sergey Vasilievich.

Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha called the Russian ambassador Novikov to the ministry on February 24 and said that a high-level visit from Nepal or Russia is necessary in the current situation. It has not been accepted by the Russian side. But in a meeting with Finance Minister Varshman Pun on March 7, Russian Ambassador Novikov claimed that he had received news that even though Russia wants to send Nepalese back, not all Nepalis are willing to return to their country. On the contrary, he said that Nepal should stop young people from joining the Russian army illegally. Novikov informed Minister Pun that preparations are being made to release the Nepalis who were held hostage by the Ukrainian army through the exchange of prisoners of war. "We are ready to free Nepalis from Ukraine, even if they are exchanged with the members of the Ukrainian army under the control of our army," Novikov said.

Nepal's former ambassador to Russia, Hiranyalal Shrestha, says that Nepalis were kidnapped by the Russian government and not recruited into the army. According to him, the Nepalese have spent money to join the Russian army of their own free will. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contacted Russia saying that they will return the Nepalese. But Russia has already said that they will provide compensation but will not provide information on other matters,' he said, 'Russia is claiming that the Nepalis were recruited after making an agreement with them.' . "Nepal, which has a non-aligned foreign policy, either did not allow Nepalis to be recruited in any country, otherwise it was not possible by opposing Russia alone."

In the meantime, after the government did not accept the request of the victim's family despite repeated requests, the campaign coordinator Bhandari sat on a hunger strike for 17 consecutive days with 13-point demands in Ratnapark to save the lives of Nepalese who were attached to the Russian army. Meanwhile, on May 23, Public Relations Officer of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Buddhi GC visited the hunger strike site and assured that the Prime Minister would address the demands. Coordinator Bhandari says that the government is not serious about the Nepalis who have joined the Russian army, so they were forced to fast to death. "Since the beginning, we have been asking to break the contract agreement and bring it to the country. Nepalis are at risk every second in Russia. However, the government in Kathmandu seems to be sleeping,' she said, 'Until the government addresses our demands, we will not stop raising awareness.' The

campaign calls upon the government to announce the methods and procedures for investigating the disappearances and bring them to the immediate implementation level, make public the data of Nepalis working in the Russian army, identify the middlemen who send them to Russia under temptation, and form a ministerial-level coordination committee for the rescue, relief and rehabilitation of the victims' families. Need to be done, the rehabilitation of the youth who returned from the Russian army and proper care of the victim's family should be arranged, and Nepal should take steps not to recruit its citizens for military service without a military agreement in countries with diplomatic relations.

UML's whip and member of international relations and tourism committee Sunita Baral said that the government should take active steps to rescue Nepali citizens. According to him, the committee has made efforts to understand the situation of the Nepalis who have joined the Russian army, but has not been able to get a concrete answer. She said, 'Nepal needs to work according to a strong diplomatic dialogue and process regarding the situation of Nepalis, repatriation process and compensation.'