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Police Disclosed Number of Russian-Directed Terror Attacks Involving Recruited Ukrainian Children
Since January 2025, Ukraine’s Juvenile Police have logged 62 separate acts of sabotage involving youths aged 13 to 17 and received almost 70 self-reported appeals from minors alleging recruitment attempts by Russian agents, Juvenile Police Chief Vasyl Bohdan said in his interview to Ukrinform on July 4.
“This year we recorded 65 incidents of sabotage involving 62 children aged 13 to 17. These are not just numbers, these are tragedies that could have been prevented,” Bohdan said.
Since the beginning of 2025, Juvenile Police units nationwide have received 69 appeals from children reporting attempted recruitment by Russian operatives, reflecting a broad pattern of targeting vulnerable minors for hostile activities.
Law enforcement interviews indicate that financial reward is the primary motive driving minors to participate, with many believing the tasks to be “easy work” rather than acts directed by an opposing force. None of the interviewed children fully understood the potential for serious injury or death.
Recruitment and diversionary acts have been recorded in every region of Ukraine, with Odesa, Kharkiv, Mykolaiv and Kyiv reporting the highest volumes of cases. Despite a slight but steady decline in recruitment attempts attributed to systematic prevention campaigns, authorities warn that no area is immune.
Earlier, Russia and Belarus launched a program to integrate drone technology education into school curricula, introducing modules on unmanned aerial vehicle construction, technical maintenance and flight simulation across primary and secondary institutions.
Delivered by defense experts and industry professionals, the initiative has reached hundreds of classrooms since late May, aiming to equip schoolchildren with technical competencies for future UAV operations.
-21d0b63c17f6020e4df75f6c6f9a2f4f.jpg "Photo of Ivan Khomenko")
