The majority of Nepali soldiers who served in the Russian Army and wish to return to Nepal are expected to arrive home by October-December.
While South Asian countries India and Sri Lanka have not been relatively successful in bringing back their citizens from the Russian Army, Nepal has succeeded in bringing back all the citizens willing to return home.
Despite the positive news of repatriating Nepali soldiers, there is also a tragic side to the story.
The number of Nepali casualties fighting for the Russian Army is reportedly on the rise.
According to investigations, the number of Nepali soldiers killed in the war could rise from around three dozen to more than five dozen.
22 more DNA tests being conducted
It has been officially confirmed that 39 Nepalis have been killed in the Russia-Ukraine war so far.
However, recently, Russia has informed the Nepali Embassy in Moscow that the DNA tests of 22 more Nepalis who were killed in the war against Ukraine are being conducted.
"According to the army's procedure, DNA tests were conducted on them," said a source at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, "but it has been reported that they are Nepalis."
Once the DNA test is confirmed, Russia will give information about it to the Nepal government. Then the official information about their deaths will be made public.
Along with the official information, the Russian side begins the process, including compensation for the dead.
If it is confirmed that all the soldiers undergoing DNA tests are Nepalis, the number of Nepalis killed in the Russia-Ukraine war will reach 61.
Apart from the 39 Nepalis whose deaths have been officially confirmed, six Nepalis are being taken hostage by Ukraine.
170 Nepalis return home
Apart from Nepal, young people from South Asian countries including India and Sri Lanka have also joined the Russian Army.
However, compared to India and Sri Lanka, Nepal has achieved more success in repatriating its citizens. To date, 170 Nepali soldiers have returned home from Russia, and more are in the process of returning.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this number is the official data of those returning from the Nepali Embassy in Moscow with the necessary documents.
"Those who don't have passports with them are approaching the embassy for the necessary documents," the source said, adding the number of those who have not contacted the embassy is estimated to be around 300.
Acquiring citizenship poses challenges
As the war with Ukraine seemed to be prolonged, Russia adopted a policy of recruiting foreign nationals into the army.
For this, the Russian government has announced that after spending one year in the Russian Army, the concerned person and his family will be granted Russian citizenship.
After this announcement, some Nepalis have taken Russian citizenship. Officials say that it's challenging for Nepali soldiers to return from the Russian Army because they have obtained Russian citizenship.
"It's easy to demand the return of our citizens. However, how can we request the return of Nepali individuals who have already acquired Russian citizenship?" an official at the Foreign Ministry stated.
The official said that Nepal succeeded in repatriating most of its citizens as the Nepali government and the Nepali Embassy in Moscow started an initiative as soon as the information was received that they had been recruited into the Russian army.
However, South Asian countries including India and Sri Lanka have not been able to achieve the same success as Nepal since they started the initiative late.
Sri Lanka struggles to repatriate citizens
As of last July, at least 455 former Sri Lankan soldiers had joined the Russian Army.
Recently, this number was said to have increased to 2,000 and most of them were soldiers who had fought the war with the Tamil Tigers.
As the Russia-Ukraine war started while facing an unprecedented economic crisis, former Sri Lankan soldiers joined the Russian army in an organized manner. Relatives of some Sri Lankans who were recruited into the Russian Army also protested in Sri Lanka, demanding their return after many of them died and scores vanished in the war.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka, Thalaka Balasuriya, also visited Russia last June.
However, despite the State Minister's visit to Moscow, Sri Lanka could not bring back its citizens. The reason was that most of the Sri Lankans who joined the Russian Army took Russian citizenship.
Citing Russian officials, Arab News reported that 96 percent of those recruited into the Russian Army have begun the process of acquiring Russian citizenship.
"Since we took the initiative in repatriating Nepalis at the very beginning when many Nepalis had not even taken Russian citizenship, we succeeded in returning most of the citizens," said an official, "That's why we didn't have to face difficulties like Sri Lanka."
Last group prepares to return
After Western nations including the US began supporting Ukraine in the war, Russia began to recruit foreigners into its army presuming that the war would be prolonged.
Meanwhile, from May to June 2023, Nepalis also started to join the Russian army. Initially, Nepali students who had come to Russia to study were among the recruits in the Russian Army.
Eventually, the human traffickers started taking Nepalis to Russia to recruit them into the Russian Army, with the lure of attractive salaries and secure jobs.
Foreign nationals were initially recruited by the Russian Army on a one-year 'contract'. Following Nepal's request and initiative, Russia agreed to stop recruitment and send them back.
Among them, most of the Nepalis who were recruited between July and August of last year (2023) have already returned to Nepal. Those Nepalis who left the Russian Army but have not returned to their country, have found asylum in third countries like Germany and Portugal.
According to sources, all the Nepalis who have not received Russian citizenship and want to return will have returned to Nepal by October-December.
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