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Russia Pushes Law to Jail Children for Sabotage as Crackdown on Youth Intensifies
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![Photo of Maryna Kulakova]( "Photo of Maryna Kulakova")
Russia’s State Duma has passed a law tightening punishments for sabotage in both its second and third readings, according to the government’s website on November 11. The legislation introduces criminal liability for such offenses beginning at age 14, abolishes the statute of limitations for sabotage-related crimes, and establishes a potential life sentence for “inducing minors to engage in sabotage.”
It also restricts parole eligibility for those convicted under these articles and bans suspended sentences for participation in “sabotage communities.”
Currently, the maximum penalty for sabotage is up to 20 years in prison, or life imprisonment if it results in death or occurs at a nuclear facility. For minors, the maximum term remains 10 years.
All 413 deputies present voted in favor of the bill.
“We are late in making this decision. We are adopting it solely in the interests of our citizens and national security, and to protect our younger generation from the influence of foreign intelligence services that seek to involve them in sabotage,” said State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin.
Lawmakers cited a rise in sabotage cases but did not acknowledge that this increase coincides with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which the Duma supported. Since the start of the war, Russian security forces have routinely classified incidents such as the arson of relay cabinets and other railway infrastructure—acts aimed at disrupting military logistics—as “sabotage.”
Previously, it was reported that Ukraine’s Juvenile Police had recorded 62 separate acts of sabotage involving youths aged 13 to 17 and had received nearly 70 self-reported appeals from minors alleging recruitment attempts by Russian agents since January 2025, Juvenile Police Chief Vasyl Bohdan said in an interview with Ukrinform on July 4.
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