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Artem Chapeye

Artem Chapeye

Artem Chapeye is a Ukrainian writer known for the works The Ukraine and Ordinary People Don’t Carry Machine Guns. He was a proponent of non-violent re... sistance and translated into Ukrainian Mahatma Gandhi’s book Satyagraha. Despite this, Artem volunteered in the Ukrainian army a few days after being forced to evacuate his kids from their home due to the Russian invasion.

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OPINIONOPINION,

The sad story of Bibek, a shy Nepali mercenary who fought for Russia

As witnessed by a Ukrainian soldier on the front line in Donbas.

Opinion by Artem ChapeyeArtem Chapeye

Published On 10 Nov 202410 Nov 2024

epa11174852 Nepalese returnee Krishna Sharma (named changed), who had joined the Russian military fighting in Ukraine, holds a mobile phone showing a photograph of Nepalese men wearing Russian army uniforms, during an interview in Kathmandu, Nepal, 24 January 2024. (Issued 23 February 2024).Krishna Sharma (named changed), originally from Parbat in west Nepal, worked for two years as a migrant laborer in the Gulf countries. After returning home to Nepal in 2018, he found himself saddled by family debts. Sharma heard that enlisting with the Russian army could help him pay off those debts. A �middleman� told him he would earn 95,000 roubles per month if he joined the Kremlin�s military campaign. He paid a trafficker around 5,300 USD, and within a week had obtained an entry visa. After arriving in Russia, his 27-man unit � all Nepali soldiers save for the Russian commander � were immediately deployed to the Ukraine front. Sharma told EPA that he was lucky to escape with his life on his unit�s first day of battle, in which he was severely wounded in a drone attack. He only survived by pretending to be dead and covering himself with �mud and snow.� After the attack, he told EPA that he spent the night inside a burnt tank. He eventually reached a Wagner Group camp before being transferred to hospital. �There, someone provided substantial assistance, including giving me clothes and helping me contact my family. This kind person also facilitated my visit to the Nepalese embassy, which expedited the issuance of a 24-hour travel document,� Sharma says. Now back in Pokhara, Nepal, he is being treated in hospital to remove grenade fragments still embedded in his chest. Despite the injuries he sustained during his brief but harrowing experience in eastern Ukraine, Sharma is one of the few Nepali recruits lucky enough to make it home. EPA-EFE/NARENDRA SHRESTHA ATTENTION: This Image is part of a PHOTO SET

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