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From Classrooms to Boot Camps: Russia Militarizes Schools in Temporarily Occupied Donbas
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In temporarily occupied Donbas, Russian-installed authorities are repurposing educational institutions into centers for military training, presenting the activities under the guise of “youth development.”
According to the Center of National Resistance on December 2, military-technical sessions are being held for students at the Donetsk Mining and Electromechanical Technical College. Teenagers are instructed in handling mock rifles, applying tourniquets, assembling and disassembling weapons, working with drones, and performing basic tactical tasks.
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Although the program is formally described as a “project supported by Rosmolodsport ” and aimed at “youth development,” it clearly goes far beyond standard educational activities. The Center notes that comparable training is taking place in at least eight other technical colleges in occupied territories.
According to the report, supervisors have been directed to create a “core of future instructors” from among the most disciplined students. Analysts warn that such measures are designed to build a long-term mobilization reserve beginning at ages 15 to 17, forming part of the region’s ongoing militarization.
The use of quasi-civic structures such as “volunteer patrols” enables Russian authorities to impose military discipline and promote the rhetoric of an “internal front” without assuming formal responsibility for the instruction.
As reported by the Center of National Resistance, the educational system in occupied Donbas is effectively being turned into a mechanism for preparing young people for involvement in security or military operations. These activities, carried out on a systematic basis, erode the purpose of education and serve Russia’s broader long-term objectives of establishing a controlled mobilization base.
Earlier, Russia introduced a new so-called “recreation program” for children from the temporarily occupied territories of the Zaporizhzhia region, with plans to transfer more than 400 minors to Russia’s Yaroslavl region before the end of 2025.
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