New club in Crimea teaches Ukrainian children military tactics, ISW reports

In occupied Crimea, Russian military intelligence veterans have established the “Gryphon” club, where children aged 7 to 17 are taught the “basics of military training,” writes the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“Russian veterans and active military personnel will teach children in accordance with the doctrine of the Main Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Federation (GRU), the Soviet Committee for State Security (KGB), the Soviet People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD), and SMERSH (Soviet counterintelligence from the Stalin era),” the report states.

The authors of the report suggest that the “Gryphon” instructors will teach children to recognize pro-Ukrainian sentiments in their communities and report them to the Russian authorities.

Programs like "Gryphon" are preparing Ukrainian children for service in the Russian army. Russia uses these military-patriotic educational clubs and programs to create a reserve of forces that could be mobilized for future conflicts, which is a direct violation of Article 51 of the Geneva Convention, the analysts noted.

According to the Almeda Civil Education Center, 260 cadet classes operate in Russian-occupied Crimea, while there were 197 at the end of the previous academic year. In total, 6,265 children are studying military affairs in schools across the peninsula.