Russian Occupation Authorities Escalate Repressive Measures Against Children in Occupied Kherson

In the temporarily occupied part of Kherson region, Russian forces have intensified repressive measures targeting Ukrainian children.

According to the Center for National Resistance (CNS), Russian so-called inspectors for juvenile affairs have become frequent visitors to schools in the area.

In occupied Kakhovka and its surrounding areas, Russian police officers have been conducting “lectures” with students under the theme “We are responsible for our actions.” These sessions primarily aim to identify and intimidate students who continue to express pro-Ukrainian views.

The Russian Forces focus particular attention on the responsibility for spreading information that, according to them, discredits the “Russian world” and exposes Kremlin crimes.

Russian authorities gathered “active” youth from the temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia region to train them in identifying and combating Ukrainian “extremism.” The children underwent training on how to detect peers who continue to consider themselves Ukrainians and maintain connections with Ukraine.

Additionally, the CNS reported that Russian authorities plan to relocate Ukrainian children from occupied territories to specialized boarding schools in Russia, promising them “advantages” over other children.

Earlier, it was reported that Ukrainian children from the occupied Bilovodsk in the Luhansk region are being held at a military camp near a training range in Novosibirsk, Russia. The camp, called “Young Soldiers,” hosts children aged 11 to 17, who are undergoing military training, including tactical, firearms, and drill skills.

According to the Luhansk Regional State Administration, the children’s parents are unaware of their situation. The camp is part of a federal project, “Faces of Friendship,” and involves physical training and informal meetings with individuals connected to the war in Ukraine.

Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has illegally deported over 20,000 Ukrainian children, according to Ukrainian Ombudsman for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets. He also warned that around 1.5 million more children in Russian-occupied territories are at risk of deportation.