"If we were birds, we would fly back"

He said that he never knows when drones will come and drop bombs on the bunker. "If you are one second late in going to the toilet, you will die. We are in the target of bullets," said Pun. He also requested the government of Nepal to rescue them as soon as possible.

The audio message sent by Hari Shrish Magar of Baglung to Kantipur is also full of sorrow like Lokendra's. An uncontainable place came to Anjan. Food aside, one bottle of water should last for three to four days. No one cares,” he said in the audio. He is stationed in an area of ​​the city of Donetsk in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine. Like other Nepalis, they want to return home as soon as possible. However, the war commander does not listen to him at all. It is not known how long he can survive the continuous drone attacks by the Ukrainian army, who is fighting a war sitting in a bunker built under a green tarpaulin. Hari says that even if he wanted to, he could not do anything abroad, "It is impossible to come from here by foot, if it was a bird, we would have flown back."

Hari also pleaded with a high-ranking Russian commander who came for an on-site inspection only last week. He said that it is not possible to return until the end of the one-year contract period. If your name is canceled and comes from above (Russian Ministry of Defense), we will send it. We have to work in any way until it comes," Hari said, quoting the commander's statement.

Dozens of Nepalis who joined the Russian army and fought against Ukraine are in contact with Kantipur. It can be easily understood from the audios, videos and conversations with the families that they have sent, that the Nepalis are being reluctantly dragged into the war by the Russian government. Nepalis who are trying to return are also being forcibly sent to war.

Even after the 1-year contract expires, Hari said that Russia has adopted a policy of automatically renewing the contract and keeping it in the war. Here, after the contract is completed, it renews itself again. The army is not telling us about this," he said. "The fight will go on for a long time. We are under stress. The Nepalese who are there say that the Russian government is reluctant to send back to Nepal even those who have been injured or injured in the war. A Nepalese soldier in the Russian army is injured after being hit by shrapnel on his knee, head and hand during the war. Not able to walk more than 20/25 minutes. I say that it is not well healed, it is painful. Where does the commander above hurt? They scold me for losing. They say that they are pretending that everything is fine,' he said, 'They are even pretending to run away.' The injured Nepali, who is being treated in a hospital in Russia, told Kantipur that trying to escape is getting more risky. Many tried to escape. How many managed to get out. How many friends were arrested. They are thrust directly into the frontline. Some of them died because of that," he said. "Many friends are in the hospital. Including those who have gone to war four times. Hospitals also do not have proper service facilities. How many people are undocumented? How many people don't even have money for food.

Hari from Baglung said that the Russian army discriminated against the Nepalis on the battlefield. He said in the audio, "There is a lot of difference between Russia's own army and Nepalese." Food is given to them by the government. We must buy and eat. They like us a lot. They beat them with sticks, butts of guns. If not, they will shoot him.' He says that the Nepalis who have joined the Russian army are also suffering because of the language. Ranjan Kunwar of Surkhet said that he has to fight the war without pay.

Most of the Nepalis who were recruited in the Russian army say that they were forced to come here due to the circumstances and restrictions and are now appealing for their lives. Navaraj Budhathoki of Nawalparasi, who is fighting in the Russian army, said that they are waiting for rescue from the Nepal government. He says that they are going through mental stress and the whole family is under stress. "We don't have any documents or bank papers. There are only tight clothes. We want to leave the war-torn area as soon as possible," he said.

It has been confirmed that 32 Nepalis who joined the Russian army and went to fight against Ukraine have died. At least 96 of those who joined the Russian army are not in contact with their Nepali families. In the same way, around 450 families of those recruited in the Russian army have already applied to the consular department under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asking for a search.

The initiative taken by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to rescue the Nepalis recruited in the Russian army has not been fruitful. Last time, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov asked about the number of Nepalis who were recruited in the Russian army, the bodies of those who were killed during the fighting, to be brought to Nepal, to pay compensation and not to recruit Nepalis into the Russian army and to send back those who were recruited. But the Russian Foreign Minister did not commit to other issues even though Russia is ready to compensate the families of those killed during the war.