KATHMANDU, JULY 31
A 24-year-old Nepali man from Rolpa district who has been held as a prisoner of war (PoW) since late 2023 has described how limited opportunities at home, the high cost of studying in Russia and misleading promises about rear-area duties drew him into the Russian army - and how, more than two-and-a-half years later, he simply wants to leave captivity, whether for Russia or Nepal.
Pratik Pun, an only son from Rolpa district with no prior military or law enforcement experience in Nepal, is currently being held in a PoW camp in the Lviv region. He was apprehended by Ukrainian forces in November 2023.
Pun arrived in Russia in June 2023 at the recommendation of a relative from his village who was already there, intending to study and work. His departure came just six months after his father died, leaving him as the primary bread winner, along with his mother and three sisters, two of whom are married. "It cost me about Rs 500,000 to travel to Russia," he stated in an exclusive Zoom meeting with THT.
Pun, seeking financial opportunities, applied to the Russian army with a friend in September 2023. Despite the presence of a translator during the signing, the contract was written in Russian, and the recruits were unable to understand its contents.
Pun was expecting an annual salary of around $46,000, Russian citizenship and an assignment strictly limited to rear-area support, such as transporting supplies and assisting wounded soldiers, based on assurances from recruiters and military friends.
Instead, after only about two weeks of basic training, which he described as 'easy and simple,' Pun was unexpectedly deployed to the front lines. He was captured by Ukrainian forces shortly thereafter in November 2023.
By the time of the interview, he had spent roughly 32 or 33 months as a prisoner of war in a camp in western Ukraine's Lviv region. Pun expressed satisfaction with his treatment, saying, "Things are good ... there aren't any complaints."
While phone calls are prohibited, he maintains occasional contact with his family in Nepal through letters facilitated by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Pun revealed he has had no recent contact with Nepali diplomatic officials, recalling only a brief meeting with an individual acting as an interpreter in Kyiv roughly two years prior.
With anticipated prisoner exchanges failing to materialise, Pun expressed a desperate desire for release, stating that he is willing to be repatriated to either Nepal or Russia just to leave the facility.
He urged Nepal government to open formal diplomatic channels to secure the release of himself and approximately nine other Nepali nationals who are being held in similar circumstances. "Take some actions and bring us back to the country through whatever process necessary," Pun pleaded with Nepali authorities.