Russia recruits Nepalese for war against Ukraine: Kathmandu protests

Nepal is demanding that Moscow not recruit its citizens into the Russian army and immediately return all Nepali citizens after it became known that six soldiers serving in the Russian army were killed, Reuters reports.

Nepalese soldiers, called Gurkhas, have been serving the British and Indian armies since India gained independence in 1947 under an agreement between the three countries.

The small Himalayan country, sandwiched between China and India, has no such agreement with Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and has been at war ever since.

The Nepalese government said in a statement that six of its citizens serving in the Russian army had been killed, without giving any details.

"The government of Nepal has requested the Russian government to immediately return their bodies and pay compensation to their families," the Foreign Ministry says.

The statement also said that diplomatic efforts are being made to secure the release of one Nepali citizen who served in the Russian army and was taken prisoner in Ukraine. Nepal also urged its citizens not to join the army of any country at war.

The English-language newspaper The Kathmandu Post quoted Milan Raj Tuladhar, Nepal's ambassador to Moscow, as saying that 150-200 Nepalis were mercenaries in the Russian army.

Millions of Nepalese citizens are employed in civilian jobs, mostly as laborers at industrial plants and construction sites in South Korea, Malaysia, and the Middle East.

Mercenaries in the Russian army

Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree allowing foreigners who enlisted in the Russian army to obtain citizenship on a fast-track basis.

In September, Cuba reported that the authorities were working to neutralize a network that operated both on Cuban soil and in Russia.

The Cuban authorities arrested 17 people who lured young Cuban men to serve in the Russian army in the war with Ukraine. They may face the death penalty.