Krishna Bahadur Shai was lured to Russia with the promise of a better life.

Instead, he found himself used as cannon fodder in Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.

Everything went wrong on a biting cold day in December, when he was walking through a forest in Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia.

It snowed as he and several other Nepalese nationals collected wood that would be used to build a bunker for the Russian army.

They stayed in the forest for a few days and learned how to shoot the weapons they were carrying, before continuing their journey through the forest.

Then, suddenly, Ukrainian drones began firing bullets and tear gas at the men.

Krishna had no idea when they had crossed into the conflict zone.

"I fired for 15 minutes. A magazine has 30 bullets. I had four magazines. All the bullets were used up," he said.

"I received four rounds of bullets."

Krishna is one of hundreds of Nepalese men who are estimated to have signed up to fight alongside Russia in its war against Ukraine.

The men were lured by promises of more than $US2,000 ($3,000) a month and a fast-tracked pathway to Russian citizenship.

In Krishna's case, he said he was approached by a recruiter who promised him a job in Europe. But when he got to Moscow, he was told there was no work for him due to high snowfall during the northern hemisphere winter.

After three months, during which he became increasingly desperate, the recruiter suggested Krishna join the Russian military.

"We did realise we [made a] mistake. But the way we reached [Russia] and were tricked by the agent, we had no alternative," he said.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-03-17/nepalese-mercenaries-lured-to-russia-to-fight-in-ukraine/103580652