KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 3

"I would not have survived if I had remained in the Russian military. My brother-in-law, who is currently working in South Korea, advised me not to be concerned about money. 'You are my only brother-in-law. You must return to Nepal, and I will handle the monetary issue,' he said. As a result, I was able to escape; otherwise, I would not have," said Khotang resident Suman Rai, 31, who successfully escaped from the Russian army after joining it.

"My other friend, whom I met at the camp, also wanted to return home, but he said I have kept my home collateral. If I returned without money, I would be stranded. His name is Bikram Chaudhary, and he hails from Dang. I have not been able to communicate with him since my return," he told THT.

He further said, "They have disclosed all of the details available. To my knowledge, more than 400 Nepalis have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, and around 800 are currently fighting on behalf of the Russian army."

"We were not permitted to use our phones or have access to them. We were also separated from our friends and divided into groups to fight in the war."

He stated that he was able to escape the war and save his life because he paid approximately NRs 300,000 to an agent who assisted him in fleeing.

Suman, who was looking for work abroad, visited a manpower office in Sukedhara. He was looking for work in Malaysia when an agent from a manpower company offered him a tempting offer to join the

Russian army for 800,000 Nepali rupees, with a monthly salary of around 300,000 rupees.

"I accepted the offer, but the agent explained that you would need to obtain a visit visa. As a result, I obtained a 30-day visitor visa and travelled to Moscow (Russia's capital) via Dubai," Suman stated.

He claimed to have spent eight hours at Muscat Airport. "After eight hours, a man came to pick me up and took me to the hotel. After only one day in the hotel, I was immediately deployed to the training camp, where I was taught how to use firearms," he shared.

After two weeks of training, he was sent to a war zone. "I was not informed that I was being sent to Ukrainian territory to fight in a war. I realised only when I reached there," he said.

"We were forced to sign a document given to us in Russian and then be immediately deployed on the front lines of war. If we express a desire to return, they confiscate our passports."

He also stated that Nepalis were being used as a shield by the Russians in the war. Many of them died because they were unable to understand the language.

"There is a zero percent chance of survival in the war; if we are wounded, the Russians abandon us on the battlefield," he stated.

According to him, Nepalis make up a larger proportion of the Russian army than those from Gulf countries, China, India, and Mongolia.

Nepalis from Qatar, Dubai, and other countries are joining the army with ease. According to Suman, Nepalis are joining the Russian Army for Permanent Residency (PR) and high pay despite having good jobs in the Gulf countries.

Suman is an experienced cook. He has seven years of experience working in hotels, both abroad and in Nepal. He said, "I returned to Nepal and opened my own hotel, but a pandemic destroyed my business completely. Then I tried a clothes shop, but it also failed."

"Finally, after losing hope on all fronts, I decided to travel abroad again and ended up landing in Russia. I was unaware of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine prior to my trip. I went to Russia solely to earn money, but I soon discovered that I was supposed to join the Russian army. Fortunately, I escaped two months ago and returned home safely just before Tihar."

According to Suman, a friend in Russia who is on a working visa assisted him in saving his life, and his sister and brother-in-law sent money for his travel fairs and other expenses. "I paid about Rs 800,000 to travel to Russia and Rs 300,000 to return to Nepal" he added.