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Nepal halts Russia and Ukraine work permits
Summary
A look back at 5 January 2024, when Kathmandu acted after Nepali deaths in the Russian army, days after a Russian citizenship decree for foreign fighters.
What happens when a country's citizens are drawn into a war that is not their own? On 5 January 2024, Nepal gave its answer: it suspended the issuance of permits for its citizens to work in Russia and Ukraine, after 10 Nepalis were killed while serving in the Russian Army.
A decree the day before
The suspension followed a move in Moscow on 4 January 2024. Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a decree granting Russian citizenship to foreigners who fight for Russia in the war against Ukraine, and to their families.
Other developments that week
On 3 January 2024, Ukraine and Russia completed their first prisoner exchange in nearly five months, releasing more than 200 people on each side. The United Arab Emirates mediated the exchange.
The same day, Turkey denied access to the Black Sea for two Royal Navy minehunters. Ankara said that their transit of the Bosporus and Dardanelles straits would violate the Montreux Convention of 1936.
Taken together, the reports from 3 to 5 January 2024 showed the war's reach beyond the front line: in diplomacy over detainees, in the rules governing naval passage, and in the recruitment and loss of foreign nationals.
