Nepal wants its men back from Russia's war in Ukraine after deaths on the front
SYANGJA DISTRICT, Nepal — Reema Karki is angry, but she's good at hiding it with a stoic look on her face.
The 31-year-old woman from Nepal received a letter from the Nepalese Embassy in Moscow with news that her husband, Pritam Karki, had died on Nov. 15 while serving in the Russian military in Ukraine.
Thousands of miles away from their village in the Syangja district of Nepal, her husband used to send her texts and voice messages on the Telegram messaging app every two weeks. But the communication had gone silent.
In his last voice message, Pritam said he was in Russia, away from the front, and tried to reassure her: "My dear wife, this country is huge. It's risky on the front line, but I'm not there, so it's all good. It's just a matter of one year. After that, we will have a citizenship card and you can move here with me."
He was referring to the Russian government's offer of citizenship to foreigners after one year of serving in its army on a contractual basis.
He was one of hundreds of Nepali men
