Police in Nepal have arrested 10 people for allegedly scamming unemployed young men into joining the Russian army.
The suspects charged people up to $9,000 for “tourist visas” and sent them to Russia through third countries, mainly the United Arab Emirates, Kathmandu District Police chief Bhupendra Khatri told Reuters. They were then recruited to the Russian army, the official said, adding that it amounted to human trafficking.
Nepalese authorities had earlier asked Russia not to recruit its citizens to fight in Ukraine, as at least six Nepalis have already been killed, Kathmandu Post reported this week.
On Monday, Ukrainian military reporter Andriy Tsaplienko published a video of five Russian prisoners of war captured by the Ukrainian army, taken in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. In the video, all of them identify themselves and say they are all serving in the Russian 70th Motorized Rifle Regiment. While three are from Dagestan and other parts of Russia, one prisoner says he is from Nepal.
“The fighter does not speak Russian … at all. This is a mercenary from Nepal, and how the Nepalese became a Russian occupier, we will tell separately,” Tsaplienko wrote. POLITICO could not independently verify the video.
The Kremlin so far has not issued any official reaction. However, Russia has been actively recruiting foreigners to fight in its invasion of Ukraine. POLITICO earlier reported on Russia recruiting Cuban citizens to fight against Ukraine. The most common motivation for the mercenary soldiers is money, which they do not always get from the Kremlin.
