On December 11, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” said that around 200 Nepali youths could be working in Russian forces fighting against Ukraine. Mr. Prachanda shared the information, albeit without disclosing the source, at a meeting of his Maoist party.
He did not reveal what exactly his government has been doing to track down those Nepalis in Russian forces and rescue them. Nevertheless, at least one person fighting for Russian forces is someone who once was a member of the so-called “people’s liberation army” that Mr. Prachanda led between 1996 and 2006 when his Maoist party waged a war against the Nepali state.
In a Facebook post on December 14, Diamond C. Myagdeli shared that he is among thousands of those who once fought the Maoist war but were left to fend for themselves and look for jobs in different parts of the world. He also shared, along with an image of him in camouflage fatigues carrying a gun, that he joined Russian forces voluntarily despite knowing the high risks involved.
