The death of 23 more Nepalis who joined the Russian army and served on the war front with Ukraine has been confirmed. Along with this, the number of Nepalis who joined the Russian army and died in the war with Ukraine has reached 73. Among those who went missing during the Russia-Ukraine war and sent samples for DNA testing, the 'report' of 50 people is yet to come.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 23 more deaths have been confirmed since December 9. According to the information sent by the Nepali Embassy in Moscow to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the latest deaths are Hem Kumar Magar of Nawalparasi, Lalit Singh Dobal of Darchula, Tara Prakash Gharti of Salyan, Ramkrishna Adhikari of Sankhuwasabha, Geet Bahadur Gharti Magar of Kaski, Makkhan Bahadur Pun of Baglung, Ram Kumar Pradhan of Makwanpur, Ronal Mishra of Morang, Bhim Bahadur Gharti Magar of Pyuthan, Cham Bahadur Gharti of Myagdi. Arjun Dutt Bhatt from Baitadi, Sujan Sharma from Surkhet and Ramkumar Budhamgar from Rukum West. 

The other 10 people whose addresses have not been disclosed are Lar Bahadur Budha, Netra Bahadur Thapa, Vikas Rai, Rupak Rai, Mahendra Malla, Ashok GC, Amrit Thapa Alemgar, Udayraj Tharu, Pritam Rai  and Prem Bahadur Lungelimar. The consular department has contacted the families of those whose deaths have been confirmed and informed them. Most of them have not been in touch with their families for over a year. 

According to the Nepalese who served in the war and returned, the human losses increased when Russia sent them to the "Red Zone" without giving them full training on war. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the number of confirmed deaths is likely to increase. Since March of last year, Russia has started sending details of the names of missing Nepalis to send DNA samples of family members for the identification of Nepali citizens working in the Russian army.

According to the information sent by Russia, 8 people have been found in DNA samples sent from Nepal, including Hemkumar of Nawalparasi, Lalitsingh of Darchula, Taraprakash of Salyan, Ronal of Morang, Bhim Bahadur of Pyuthan, Chham Bahadur of Myagdi, Arjun Dutt of Baitadi and Sujan of Surkhet.

The DNA 'report' of others has not yet arrived. The consular department sent DNA samples of 58 families for testing in March 2080 and October 2081. 

Among those sent at that time were Tika Bahadur Ranamar of Terathum, Jit Bahadur Punamar and Abhishek Budha of Dang, Chandra Bahadur BC of Banke, Ghanshyam Shahi of Morang, Prem Bahadur Kathayat of Acham, Khom Bahadur Bhujel of Okhaldhunga, Bimal Kumar Gajmer of Dhanusha, Premprakash Neupane and Bhim Bahadur BC of Navalparasi, Kshitij Basnet of Khotang, Somesh of Pyuthan. The results of the DNA report sent by the families of Sunuwar and Vikas Rai, Vijay Bahadur Thokar and Jitendra Bahadur Ghising of Makwanpur have not been received. 

Similarly, Laxman Bista, Lal Bahadur Punmagar and Bharat Kunwar of Surkhet, Rajan Raut and Mahendra Shahi of Sunsari, Madan Gurung of Dhading, Nar Bahadur Darlami, Tikaram Gurung, Suman Meche, Kapil Ghartimar and Maitman Gharti, Chandra Bahadur Ghimire of Kapilvastu, Sandeep Kami, Hira Bahadur Gurung and Shyamadhwaj Gurung, who were sent last October. Sujan Zawegu and Jitendra KC of Panchdhar, Ganesh Bahadur Kumal of Gorkha, Sadhuram Pradhan of Ramechhap, Bhuvan Punmagar, Rohan Tamang and Gyan Bahadur Magar, Bhim Bahadur Negi, Dev Tamang and Vijayakumar Tamata of Doti, Vipin Vick of Rupandehi, Chandraprakash BC, Subas Tamang and others have not received the results of DNA report.

The government of Nepal does not have the official data of the Nepalis who are serving in the Russian army in the ongoing war in the 1700 km border area between Russia and Ukraine. Many Nepalis are still working in Russia-Ukraine war. All the Nepalis recruited in the Russian army have completed their one-year contract period by last February. Russia has not renewed the agreement in case of Nepalese passport holders. But in the case of Nepalese who have got Russian passport and citizenship, the Russian government has renewed the agreement. There is no definite information about how many Nepalis are working now.

 Milanraj Tuladhar, the outgoing ambassador to Russia, says that Russia has stopped renewing Nepal's contract after the request of the Nepalese government. The government had sent a diplomatic note in the third week of November 2080 asking to stop new enrollment and send them to Nepal. After that, Russia announced that no new admissions were taken. 

Russia-Ukraine war continues since 24 February 2022. After suffering unexpected losses in the war with Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin introduced a policy to increase the number of soldiers by offering a salary of about 300,000 rubles and a direct Russian citizenship after one year. That is why some Nepalese youths were recruited into the army through India, Gulf and Malaysia through human traffickers. Some Nepali students studying in Russia were also recruited in the army and deployed on the battlefield. Although Russia has not provided an official number, it is estimated that at least 15 hundred Nepalis have joined the army there.

 Families of those who died in the Russian army are also finding it difficult to get compensation. Some families are going to Russia for compensation. According to the consular department, so far the families of 11 deceased have made documents to claim compensation. The then Ambassador Tuladhar says that Nepali people should also get compensation just like the Russian army. "In most of the contracts, the name of the claimant is written in the contract, but in some cases, the claimant can make a claim, even if the claimant goes to Russia himself, he will give money, the time to get the compensation may be a bit earlier/later, but it will be available."

23 more Nepalis who lost their lives in Russia-Ukraine war

-Hemkumar Magar, Nawalparasi

-Lalitsingh Dobal, Darchula 

– Tara Prakash Gharti, Salyan 

– Ramakrishna Adhikari, Sankhuwasabha

– Geet Bahadur Ghartimagar, Kaski 

– Makkhan Bahadur Pun, Baglung

– Ramkumar Pradhan, Makwanpur

– Ronal Mishra, Morang 

– Bhim Bahadur Ghartimagar, Pyuthan 

– Chham Bahadur Gharti, Myagdi 

– Arjun Dutt Bhatt, Baitadi 

– Sujan Sharma, Surkhet 

– Ramkumar Budhamgar, Rukum Paschim 

address unopened 

– Lar Bahadur Budha

– Netra Bahadur Thapa

– Vikas Rai