Russia’s seeks to exploit Ukrainian children for military potential — Bring Kids Back UA

She shared the information in an interview with Espreso TV.

“The frantic indoctrination of Ukrainian children by the Russian Federation is very harmful for our future generation. After all, children, especially those of a young age, are not able to distinguish between lies and truth, cannot critically analyze the information that adults constantly tell them: at school, in the theater, on TV and TikTok. Ukrainian children have been exposed to Russian propaganda since the first days of the occupation. The ban on speaking Ukrainian, even in private, has a huge impact. They are taught to be ashamed and apologize for using Ukrainian words,” said Zarivna.

The head of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative also emphasized that Russians teach history in a distorted way, where Ukraine both does not exist and is portrayed as an eternal enemy.

Zarivna said that children from Russian-occupied territories are regularly sent to so-called "re-education camps," where they are forced to wear military uniforms, chant Russian slogans, participate in parades, meet with Russian soldiers, and serve as propaganda tools.

“One of the returned children, Artem, described how he was taken from Kupiansk and transported to an orphanage in the occupied Luhansk region. There, he and other children slept on beds without mattresses, often went hungry, and received no proper education. Instead, they were forced to sing the Russian national anthem every morning, wear military-style uniforms, and attend propaganda events glorifying the war, instead of regular lessons. This policy is heavily funded from Russia’s federal budget and is part of a long-term strategy to cultivate loyalty to the regime and build up the mobilization potential of the Russian army for years to come,” she said.

• Daria Zarivna, head of the Bring Kids Back UA initiative, noted that about 1.6 million Ukrainian children remain under Russian occupation. She added that Russia has stopped providing any information about deported Ukrainian children, leaving their exact numbers unknown.