Russia Recruits Children for Military Drone Programs in Occupied Ukraine

Multiple investigations reveal that Russia is actively recruiting and training children, including Ukrainian youth in occupied territories, to design, assemble, and test military drones used in the war against Ukraine.

These efforts include propaganda campaigns, youth military organizations, and educational incentives that funnel children into defense technology roles. Russian defense firms and drone factories are employing teenagers, while summer camps in occupied regions teach Ukrainian children to build FPV drones. The strategy is part of a broader campaign to indoctrinate youth and replace local populations with Russian citizens and loyalists.

Human rights groups warn that these practices violate international law and further entrench Russia's control over occupied areas.