In July 2023, a 17-year-old boy traveled 500 miles from eastern Ukraine to retrieve a bomb and a phone hidden in a park in Rivne, where he was supposed to plant the bomb in a van associated with Ukraine’s military conscription service. He was allegedly promised $2,000 (£1,520) for this task. The youth, identified under the pseudonym Vlad, later confessed to being scared while connecting the bomb’s wires, contemplating the possibility of death.
Vlad is among many Ukrainian minors the government claims have been recruited by Russia for sabotage activities through online channels, particularly via apps like Telegram and TikTok. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) reported identifying over 800 individuals, including 240 minors, who have been approached for these actions. Recruitment efforts aim at vulnerable populations, with officials stating that children do not fully grasp the gravity of their involvement.
After being monitored, Vlad’s planned attack was thwarted by the SBU. Now 18 years old, he awaits trial on charges that could lead to a 12-year sentence for terrorism. He has acknowledged that his actions could have caused fatalities, revealing a troubling mindset toward military conscription officers in Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities indicated a deliberate strategy to exploit children, noting instances of recruitment extending to minors as young as nine or ten. They described various methods of inducing participation, often involving financial incentives motivated more by economic desperation than ideological alignment.
Despite official statements, recruitment channels remain active, with Telegram previously being alerted about many such accounts but failing to eradicate all of them. Recent reports indicate that Russian agents may also be behind similar recruitment efforts in European countries.
Source: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c8r08zmkjlzo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss