Four more Nepalis fighting from the Russian side have died in the Russia-Ukraine war taking the death toll to 40 as of August 30.

The deceased have been identified as Bimal Limbu, Bikram Chaudhary, Dom Bahadur Ale, and Subash Thapa.

The death toll stood at 34 until June 24. After that, Sanjog Acharya and Naveen Shahi were confirmed dead, with four more deaths reported thereafter, the number of Nepalis killed in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has reached 40, a source at the ministry of foreign affairs said on Monday.

“We are yet to determine where they are from. We have identified the youths but not their hometowns,” said a source from the ministry. “We are working with the relevant authorities to obtain details.” While the names of seven Nepalis who have participated in the Russia-Ukraine war as Russian soldiers have been disclosed, their districts of origin have not yet been identified.

Since the Russia-Ukraine war broke out on February 24, 2022, the Russian side illegally recruited Nepalis into its army.

In the meantime, 174 Nepalis have safely returned home from Russia. They were repatriated through the joint efforts of the ministry of foreign affairs and the Nepali embassy. The Nepal government has consistently engaged in diplomatic dialogue with Russia to address the concerns of Nepalis. However, the Russian ministry of foreign affairs has continuously deferred to the ministry of defence when responding to queries. Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba met Alexei Novikov, Russian ambassador to Nepal, and discussed the recruitment of Nepalis into the Russian army, last week.

During the meeting, Minister Rana sought some details such as the number of Nepalis in the Russian army, compensation for those killed, the repatriation of Nepalis, and the return of their bodies to Nepal.

According to a source at the foreign ministry, Ambassador Novikov skipped the substantive answer saying such matters are handled by the ministry of defence, not the ministry of foreign affairs of his country. “We raised concerns about the Nepalis involved, they said the issue is handled by the ministry of defence” Rana told Kantipur publication. “Nonetheless, we are continuously working through diplomatic channels to bring the Nepalis back and secure compensation for them.”

Not only Rana, but her predecessors, NP Saud and Narayan Kaji Shrestha, also made continuous diplomatic efforts with Russia to secure the return of Nepalis and obtain compensation. Despite this, Russia has not heeded Nepal’s concerns. Former foreign minister Shrestha had a meeting with Russian deputy foreign minister Rudenko Andrei Yurevich on the sideline of the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) held in Tehran last June, where they discussed the situation of Nepalis recruited into the Russian army.

Shrestha requested that the bodies of deceased Nepalis be returned to Nepal, compensation be provided to their families, and that injured and recruited Nepalis be repatriated. He also requested not to recruit Nepalis into the Russian army, and to provide the details about Nepalis in the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

The Nepali embassy in Berlin has also been working with the Ukrainian government to secure the release of these individuals. However, this effort has not yet been successful.

According to the ministry of foreign affairs, Rajkumar Roka and Phurwa Sherpa from Dolakha; Sukra Bahadur Tamang and Bharat Bahadur Shah from Kathmandu; Devan Rai from Kaski; Pritam Karki, Hari Prasad Aryal and Suraj BK from Syangja; Gangaraj Moktan from Ilam; Rupak Karki from Kapilvastu; and Sandeep Thapaliya from Gorkha have been killed in the conflict.

The list of Nepalis killed in the conflict also includes Kundan Singh Nagal from Darchula; Rajkumar Giri, Purna Bahadur Gurung and Netra Bahadur Gharti from Dhading; Dhansingh Pun from Rolpa; Sundar Moktan from Rasuwa; Gangaram Adhikari from Jhapa; Padam Bahadur Ghimire from Udayapur; and Sanjay KC from Banke.

Likewise, Nabin Shahi from Jajarkot; Jit Bahadur BK from Baglung; Anit Kumar Sah from Mahottari; Khagendra Magar from Dhankuta; Birbal Rai from Sankuwasabha; Balram Gurung from Rukum; Tej Bahadur Shahi from Dailekh, Surendra Rana from Jumla; Lal Bahadur Budha from Rupandehi; Shankar Damar from Gulmi, Sajan Gurung from Lamjung and Shanta Bahadur Bholan from Sindhuli are in the list of the people killed in the war.

The ministry said that the home districts of Raju Tharu, Ghanshyam Pariyar, Sanjog Acharya, Nabin Shahi, Bimal Limbu, Bikram Chaudhary, Dom Bahadur Ale and Subash Thapa are still to be ascertained.