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Russia Expands Child Militarization and Propaganda in Occupied Regions

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Photo of Liubava Petriv
Liubava Petriv
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Russia Expands Child Militarization and Propaganda in Occupied Regions
A girl listens to music as she walks past burned-out vehicles parked outside a shopping mall following a nighttime Russian drone attack on Kyiv, on May 4, 2025. (Source: Getty Images)

Russian authorities are intensifying efforts to militarize children and promote anti-Ukrainian sentiment in the temporarily occupied territories of Zaporizhzhia region, according to Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhzhia Regional Military Administration on May 5.

In a statement shared on Telegram, Fedorov said: “If earlier the enemy’s goal was to make people love Russia, now their goal is to make people hate Ukraine. They are doing everything to deepen hatred towards Ukraine and Ukrainians.”

He noted a significant increase in funding for youth-focused militarist organizations.

“They have started to invest more in their militarist organizations,” he said, adding that this year alone, Russia plans to allocate billions of rubles—three times more than before—toward the militarization of children.

Fedorov reported that a network of so-called “military-patriotic” centers is being built to teach military strategy and tactics. “They are launching one such center in Berdyansk,” he said.

He also pointed to efforts to strengthen the “Movement of the First,” a youth organization aimed at involving children in political life, and noted a growing number of specialized cadet classes in schools, which are supervised by various security agencies.

Previously, it was reported that since late February, Russian security forces have stepped up visits to schools and colleges in occupied Ukrainian territories, promoting enrollment in military and law enforcement universities under the guise of “career guidance.”

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