A Nepali joined Russia’s army. He cleared his debt but didn’t return from Ukraine front line alive

KATHMANDU - When Mr Man Bahadur Tamang left his village in the Gujara municipality of Rautahat district for Russia late in 2023, the Nepali hoped his overseas earnings would lift his family out of mounting debt.

Mr Tamang, 45, a resident of Brahmatol in Gujara-2, had been running a poultry farm in his village before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The business, which started with loans amounting to nearly 1.5 million rupees (S$13,000), failed to generate expected returns. Burdened by debt that later rose to around 2.5 million rupees, he decided to seek work abroad.

According to Mr Tamang’s family, he travelled to Russia in November, hoping to earn enough to pay off his loans and secure a better future for his wife Shantu and their five-year-old daughter.

After reaching Russia, Mr Tamang joined the Russian army and was eventually deployed to the front lines of the war against Ukraine.

According to family members, he initially reassured them that conditions were manageable and that the fighting had reduced in intensity compared with earlier phases. He regularly sent money home and, within two years, managed to clear most of his debt.

In recent months, however, communication had become irregular.

Mr Tamang told his wife that he was arranging documents for her to join him in Russia and stopped sending money home, saying that expenses related to the process were increasing.

Ms Shantu said she had begun preparing mentally to move abroad when contact suddenly ceased about a week before news of his death arrived.

“I stopped receiving calls or messages and became anxious,” she said, breaking down while recounting the moment she learnt about her husband’s death last week.

Unable to reach him, she contacted a fellow Nepali soldier – Mr Bibash Pangeni from Palpa, who had previously served with Mr Tamang. He informed her that Mr Tamang had been hit in a drone strike.

According to Mr Pangeni, Mr Tamang was killed on the evening of Feb 10 while stationed at a front-line post between Soledar and Siversk in Russia-occupied Ukraine.

Information about the attack first surfaced in a battalion group chat, where soldiers were told that Mr Tamang had been injured and needed evacuation.

Mr Pangeni said: “At first, I could not believe it. Later, we learnt that he had already died. Only after receiving photographs from the recovery team was the news confirmed.”

Ms Shantu learnt of her husband’s death two days later, on Feb 12, after fellow soldiers verified the information to avoid causing panic in the family.

The news has plunged Mr Tamang’s village into mourning, with neighbours describing him as a hard-working and soft-spoken man who had struggled for years to sustain his business before leaving for foreign employment.

Ms Shantu said her husband came from a family of four brothers, all of them living separately with their families.

Mr Tamang had sold the nine katthas (units) of land that fell under his share of the parental property and invested the money in a business venture.

However, when the enterprise failed to generate returns, he decided to seek employment abroad in the hope of improving the family’s financial situation.

Mr Tamang’s elder brother Babu said the family would not perform the final funeral rites until his body is brought back to Nepal.

“The government must take an initiative to bring back his body as soon as possible. We will perform the funeral rites only after he comes home,” he said.

The tragedy reflects a broader pattern that has emerged since the escalation of the Russia-Ukraine war.

Dozens of Nepali men, many facing unemployment or debt, travelled to Russia on visit visas or through informal networks before being recruited into the military.

Many have since been killed or injured, prompting calls for stronger government intervention and regulation of overseas recruitment channels.

Families and rights advocates have repeatedly urged the Nepal government to engage diplomatically with Russia to ensure the safety, repatriation and compensation of Nepali nationals involved in the conflict.

The government has previously acknowledged the presence of Nepali citizens in the Russian army and announced efforts to verify casualties and facilitate returns, though families say progress has been slow.

Ms Shantu travelled to Kathmandu following the incident, hoping to contact individuals who had allegedly assisted her husband’s travel arrangements.

She said she had deposited 340,000 rupees into a bank account in the name of Mr Dinesh Bhattarai before his departure, but has since been unable to trace the agent involved.

The uncertainty has added to the family’s distress as they struggle to navigate official procedures.

The places where Mr Tamang and Mr Pangeni were deployed are about 25km apart. Shortly after arriving in Russia, Mr Tamang enlisted in the army in Moscow in November.

It was during military training in Moscow that the two first met.

According to Mr Pangeni, they were part of a group of 25 recruits who, after completing training, were deployed to the war zone.

He said that more than 10 Nepali nationals from their group later fled after being sent to the conflict zone. Even after Mr Tamang’s death, five Nepalis are still stationed in the same area, he added.

Basic facilities were lacking on the front line, Mr Pangeni said, describing the harsh conditions for recruits. “There is no electricity or water here. We have to rely on generators to get through, both day and night,” he said.

The official instruction that soldiers may not be allowed to leave until the conflict ends diminishes the chances of those still fighting coming back alive. THE KATHMANDU POST/ ASIA NEWS NETWORK