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Kathmandu, Nov 18: Russia has formally informed Nepal that 104 Nepalis have died since the Russia–Ukraine war began in February 2022. Nepal’s Foreign Ministry has been told that forty more are still missing. Russian forces had been recruiting Nepali youths with promises of quick income, sending them to the front after short training. Many were killed soon after deployment.

About 350 families have asked Nepal’s Consular Department to help bring their relatives back. Based on these requests, around one hundred Nepalis have been out of contact for months, though Russia has confirmed only forty missing. To identify the dead, Russia has asked families for DNA reports. Nepal has already sent DNA samples of forty-five people, but results are pending. If all are confirmed, the total death toll could cross one hundred fifty.

Some families have started receiving compensation from Russia. Around three dozen are in the process, but they must travel to Russia to collect the payments. Activist Kritu Bhandari, who has been documenting Nepali recruitment into the Russian army, has reported higher numbers. According to her, families of 156 Nepalis have already performed final rites, and more than three hundred are missing. She has tracked 699 Nepalis who enlisted and shared the details with the Foreign Ministry.

Russia has not sent the bodies home. Most were cremated there, and only the ashes of five Nepalis have reached Nepal. Eleven Nepalis are reported to be prisoners of war in Ukraine. Among those who joined the Russian army, 221 have returned to Nepal. Sixteen of them went back to Russia and reenlisted. Bhandari continues to gather information through online groups where more than 3,400 people are active.

Nepal still lacks clear data on how many citizens joined the Russian army. The government has repeatedly asked Moscow to stop recruiting Nepalis, share records, return those who enlisted, and compensate the families of the dead and injured. These requests have not been addressed. After initial denial, the government acknowledged the problem only when reports of deaths started coming in. The first confirmed casualty was Sandeep Thapaliya of Gorkha in mid 2023. Subsequent confirmations from the Nepali embassy in Moscow forced the government to accept that Nepalis were fighting and dying in the conflict.

People’s News Monitoring Service