A Russian mercenary from Nepal Madan Kumal was killed in the Donetsk region. He was thrown into the assault along with other Nepalese.
This was reported by the Main Intelligence Directorate (known as GUR) of the Ministry of Defense.
Kumal signed a four-year contract in Moscow on October 16, 2023. After that, he was sent to military unit No. 29328, which has repeatedly sent Nepalese citizens. This unit has repeatedly experienced desertion among foreigners.
After several weeks of training, the Nepalese citizen was sent to the front line. He was effectively forced to acquire military skills on the front line.
In February 2024, he was offered Russian citizenship, but he refused. He explained his written renunciation of citizenship by his desire to return home.
After five months of service, the Nepaleseʼs relatives raised the alarm and joined the protests demanding the mercenaries be returned from Russia. A corresponding application was filed with the Nepalese consulate. The Nepalese did not have time to return — he died during an attempted assault.
As GUR notes, for a while the mercenary was "lucky" — he was in defensive positions and did not participate in assault operations. However, due to losses among the Russian infantry, the leadership was forced to send the Nepalese to the assault.
Russian mercenaries in foreign countries
According to the latest data from the Coordination Headquarters, the Russians have recruited 27 407 foreigners from 135 countries for the war against Ukraine. So far, 10 000 living and dead mercenaries have been identified, and hundreds more are in Ukrainian captivity. Ukrainian troops capture from one to three foreign mercenaries every week.
Currently, there are established facts of recruitment of citizens of Nepal and Somalia into the Russian army. The Russian Federation also recruited illegal migrants from the Finnish border into its army who were trying to get to the EU through Russia. Some citizens of Nepal and India are already in captivity or have died. There are also videos on social networks with Africans as part of the Russian occupation forces in Ukraine.
The Kremlin also cooperates with the North Korean army, with its soldiers being used in fighting in the Kursk region. In addition, in September 2023, a scheme to recruit mercenaries for the war against Ukraine was exposed in Cuba.
At the end of October 2025, it became known that the Russian Federation was recruiting people in the Balkan Peninsula to fight in the Russian army, promising payments, citizenship, and benefits.
Mercenaries from South Africa were also sent to fight against Ukraine. In late 2025, the daughter of former South African President Jacob Zuma resigned her parliamentary mandate: she was accused of deceiving 18 men into going as mercenaries to fight for Russia in Ukraine.
In January 2026, another scheme to recruit foreigners became known — the Russians lured Bangladeshi citizens into supposedly civilian vacancies, and then sent them to fight against Ukraine.
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