How Russia is turning Ukrainian children into soldiers for its army
Since the beginning of the occupation of Ukrainian territories, the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the RF, Russia) has begun a deliberate policy of influencing children who have fallen under its full control and have been isolated from the Ukrainian education system. Russia’s primary goal is to Russify children and eradicate their Ukrainian identity, in particular through the organized transfer of children to the territory of the Russian Federation, as well as their militarization with the prospect of forming a mobilization reserve for its own army.
Fully understanding the scale and illegality of their actions, the occupying authorities are trying to conceal their criminal intentions by presenting them under the guise of “caring for children”. For example, the imposition of the narrative that Ukraine is a “hostile state” is framed as a “restoration of historical justice”; the irreversible transfer of children to Russia is called “rehabilitation”; and paramilitary training under the supervision of Russian military personnel is portrayed as “summer camp recreation”.
By creating conditions in which no alternatives are available — including the lack of Ukrainian education, restricted access to independent sources of information, the inability to receive social or medical services without a Russian passport, and limitations on freedom to move outside the occupied territories — the occupying authorities coerce parents into accepting their offers of “recreation” or ” rehabilitation” for their children, which in reality become a trap.
One of such tools for the militarization of children from the temporarily occupied territories (hereinafter referred to as the TOT) was discussed in the article WARRIORS for the Russian regime. How Russia militarizes children from the temporarily occupied territories. At the same time, year by year the occupying authorities continue to expand the range of methods and instruments they use for influence. For example, in the summer of 2025, under the slogan of “patriotic upbringing”, schoolchildren from the TOT of the Zaporizhzhia region were taken to Russia – to the training facility of the Special Forces Foundation of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation “Preobrazhensky”. In this article, we will examine this illustrative example in more detail.
The “Preobrazhensky” Special Forces Training Center in the Moscow region
The “Preobrazhensky” Special Forces Training Center of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Center) is located 40 kilometers from Moscow. According to its official website, the staff consists of experienced instructors – officers and sergeants who have served in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. When necessary, the staff is supplemented by servicemen from the 45th Guards Special Forces Brigade of the Russian Federation – an elite unit that has been directly involved in Russia’s armed aggressions against Ukraine and other states.
It is important to note that the servicemen of this unit have participated in military aggression against Ukraine since 2014 (in particular, during the occupation of Crimea and hostilities in Donbas), and since February 24, 2022, in the large-scale invasion. The brigade has been mentioned in numerous investigations by human rights organizations and journalists as a unit allegedly involved in war crimes and torture of civilians.
The infrastructure of the Center replicates a full-fledged military base and includes:
- An obstacle course, a trench for throwing grenades, a parade ground for drill training and formations.
- The largest mountain training complex in Russia.
- An airborne training complex.
- A shooting range: 100-meter firing lane for shooting from diverse types of weapons, a small-caliber rifle shooting area, classrooms for firearm training, instructional posters and models, as well as a full range of weapons — combat assault rifles, pistols, rifles, paintball equipment, bows and crossbows, etc.
The program of the children’s camp, published on the website, has a distinct military orientation and includes training modules that fully align with the training of military personnel:
- Tactical medicine – teaching children to provide first aid on the battlefield.
- Firearms training – familiarization with small arms, “safety rules” when handling weapons, performance of standardized drills for disassembling and assembling the AK-74M assault rifle, shooting from air rifles.
- Hand-to-hand combat – self-defense techniques, as well as combat techniques involving knives, pistols and assault rifles.
- Tactical and special training – introduction to the “reconnaissance gear” for operations in mountains, forests and urban areas, practicing coordinated actions of the reconnaissance group in combat, organizing ambushes, “clearing” buildings and capturing vehicles.
- Airborne training – familiarization with the D6-S4 parachute, practicing proper donning procedures and the actions of a parachutist in the air using a special simulator.
- Military engineering training – familiarization with anti-tank and anti-personnel mines, diverse types of booby traps, training in setting, detecting, and “disarming” explosive devices.
“Militarized Shift” at “Preobrazhensky”
From July 20 to August 2, 2025, the “Children of the Fatherland” shift was held at the “Preobrazhensky” Center for schoolchildren from the TOT of the Zaporizhzhia region. Notably, the occupiers involved not only boys but also girls in this militarized program, which is a clear indication of a deliberate expansion of child militarization practices regardless of gender.
The organizers of the camp openly declared the program’s propagandistic purpose:
“For children from the new territories (note – the TOT of Ukraine) it is a bridge to the greater Fatherland (note – Russia). For Russia, it is a chance to raise patriots who know the value of peace.”
The organizers stated that the children had begun “a militarized shift” undergoing training conducted by active officers of the Russian Federation. The stated goals included children’s “career guidance”, their “unity” with the Russians, “meetings with the heroes of the SVO”.
At the same time, the organizers do not conceal their long-term intentions:
A clear indication of the program’s militarized nature is found in the children’s testimonies. For instance, 12-year-old Maksym from Melitopol said:
“The rifle in my hands turned out to be much heavier than in the “tank!” The guy laughs. “But the officer told us: ‘Strength is in honesty, not in the muscles.”
The fusion of “training” and propaganda
Along with military disciplines, children were taken on excursions to the “Patriot” park and the Cathedral of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation – both centers of Russian militaristic ideology.
The training of children took place in conditions that closely resembled the actual training of Russian military personnel – using a variety of training grounds, ranging from an electronic shooting range to field-based exercises. Posters with the slogan “OUR ARMY” Program” were displayed on the walls of the Center, and the organizers do not conceal the fact that at the end of the first week of such a camp, the children were already fatigued and had blisters on their hands.
Such activities have nothing in common with “rehabilitation” or “children’s recreation” — this is a deliberate preparation of minors for military service. The atmosphere of the camp is built in such a way that encourages children, from an early age, to associate themselves with the Russian army, and view weapons as a normal part of everyday life.
Military routine instead of children’s recreation
Even the living conditions bear little resemblance to the recreational or rehabilitative environment typically associated with a children’s summer camp. In the photos published by the organizers children are shown eating Russian army field rations (a set of products intended for feeding military personnel in the field) and washing their clothes by hand in basins. The organizers themselves report that the children’s daily schedule included cleaning their uniforms and maintaining order in the barracks where they lived.
The culmination – Russian Airborne Forces Day
The culmination of the children’s stay at the Center was their participation in the celebration of the Russian Airborne Forces Day, during which the children took part in the “parade formations”, weapons demonstrations, and ceremonies honoring Russian military personnel. At the end of the camp shift, the organizers concluded:
“This is not a farewell – it is a beginning. Everyone leaves with the understanding:
“The army is not only about feats, but also about discipline, brotherhood and honor.”
Thus, under the guise of “children’s recreation,” “Preobrazhensky” is in fact used for the militarization of minors from the TOT, which is a key element of the broader systematic policy of the Russian Federation aimed at preparing future personnel for its armed forces.
Organizers
The key organizer of such “recreational initiative” is the autonomous non-profit organization “Strana-Semya” (“Country-Family”), registered in Moscow, Russia. Although officially implements programs of the so-called “wellness and recreation programs”, in practice it systematically conducts military-patriotic camp shifts.
The autonomous non-profit organization “Strana-Semya” (hereinafter referred to as ANO) declares that it is implementing the long-term project “Children of the Fatherland” (Russian – “Deti Otchizny”), which is aimed at preparing teenagers to enroll in Russian higher military education institutions. The instructors of this project are officers and sergeants of active units. According to the organizers, the intended outcome of the project is that Russia will receive “young, motivated and trained officers ready to defend their country” (referring to Russia).
Since August 4, 2023, the head of the ANO is Polina Sablina, who has received awards from the Russian authorities, in particular from the Russian Ombudsperson, Tatyana Moskalkova. Such recognition from high-ranking officials indicates a high level of state support for such initiatives, as well as the broader implementation of a policy aimed at militarizing children and youth to form a future mobilization reserve for the Russian army.
Another telling example of the activities of the ANO: earlier, 33 teenagers from the TOT of the Donetsk region underwent military-sports training at the Preobrazhensky Center. As the organization itself openly declares, these young people have already “chosen their profession” — to serve in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. In other words, the ANO “Strana-Semya” not only organizes militarized training for schoolchildren, but also actively channels recruits into the Russian army.
One of other activities of the ANO is providing support to Russian servicemen who take part in the war against Ukraine.
Systematic nature and consequences
The camp at the Preobrazhensky Center is just one of many examples of Russia’s large-scale policy of militarizing children in the occupied territories. Such “militarized shifts” have been organized previously and continue to take place on a regular basis — both in the TOT of Crimea and in Russian camps, where children from across all TOT of Ukraine were brought. Such practices represent a grave violation of international humanitarian law — the Geneva Conventions and the Hague Regulations, which prohibit the forced transfer of children from the occupied territories and their involvement in military training.
Russia’s objective is clear: to destroy Ukrainian identity, instill loyalty to the occupying state’s army, and ultimately raise future soldiers for the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The “Militarized Shift” at the Preobrazhensky Center near Moscow illustrates how the Kremlin systematically uses children as instruments of war. Under the guise of “recreation” and “patriotic education”, minors are being deliberately drawn into the military sphere.
The case of 33 young men from the TOT of Donetsk region – who have already joined the ranks of the Russian army – demonstrates that these efforts go far beyond propaganda and are actually aimed at preparing a future human resource base for the Russian army.
Article prepared by the Almenda Center for Civic Education as part of the project “Defending childhood: justice & reintegration for children from TOT”. The project is implemented with the financial support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic within the framework of the Transition Promotion Program. The views expressed in this material are those of the authors and do not reflect the official position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic.
