Russia is actively involved in Ukrainian children in occupation to study and management of UAV - ISW

Analysts of the American Institute for the Study of the War in their report on April 14 were told about Russian attempts to use Ukrainian children for their own purposes. "Russia uses occupied Ukraine to support its own industry for the development and production of drones," the message reads. Prior to that, the Russian authorities actively attract children of all ages, stimulating them by turning the learning process into a game form.

Analysts report that within the framework of this program, the Kremlin conducts various drone competitions with the participation of adolescents and younger children throughout the territory of Ukraine, which the Russian Federation temporarily controls.

The ISW also gives an example of such a "competition" that took place in the temporarily occupied city of Skadovsk Kherson region: there the Russian Federation held the first "tournament" from the drones of drones in May 2024, which attracted Ukrainian children from 8 to 14 years. In Mariupol, which is also under the occupation of Russia, the authorities opened in one of the local schools "Special Engineering Class".

There, students learn how to project and make drones that are intended for use in the Russian army. According to analysts of the Institute of War, the Kremlin tries to achieve several goals, in particular: the analysts of the Institute of War Study have revealed the efforts of Russia's occupation power to increase the birth rate among Ukrainians who found themselves in temporarily occupied territories.

The Kremlin performs such actions in order to reinforce its own illegal claims for property to the territory of Ukraine, which the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation managed to capture. We will remind, earlier at the American Institute of War Study reported that Russia is experimenting with the tactics of launch of "Shahaneda" in Ukraine. The focus learned about this on April 13.