The alleged scam luring Nepali men to Russia — only to drop them on the battlefield in Ukraine
A document leaked to the ABC shows a worrying number of Nepalese men have joined the Russian army. But some appear to have been lured into Putin's war under false pretences.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
The war was not quite the weekend romp Russian President Vladimir Putin envisioned, with his troops facing fierce resistance from a well-armed Ukrainian army.
In 2022, Putin mobilised 300,000 Russian men to bolster his efforts in Ukraine, and relied on mercenary groups like Wagner to boost numbers with dastardly strategies like recruiting convicts straight out of penal colonies.
But the ABC has obtained a confidential document from Nepal's foreign ministry that shows 240 families have informed the department about relatives who have joined the Russian army.
Typically, a recruiter or agent approaches you with an education or job opportunity in Russia and all you're required to do is deposit tens of thousands of dollars into a nominated bank account to arrange all the paperwork and travel costs.
A travel agent will get you into a city like Dubai or Kuala Lumpur — places where it is fairly easy for Nepalese to get a tourist visa.
In a small village, Ganga Dhakal and her husband wait for their only son Siddhartha, who went to fight for Russia late last year.
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