For 'easy money': Russia recruits Ukrainian children to carry out attacks in their country

According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, Russia is recruiting Ukrainian children and teenagers via Telegram to carry out attacks in Ukraine. At least 13 minors are serving prison sentences, and over 300 have been arrested on similar suspicions. The article describes the stories of Yaroslav Suzansky, who was recruited at age 16, and Oleksiy Babkov, who recruited additional minors, exploiting their financial hardship.

According to data from the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice revealed today (Sunday), Russia is recruiting Ukrainian children and teenagers via Telegram to carry out attacks in Ukraine. At least 13 minors, including five girls, are already serving prison sentences in cases related to activities for Russia. Over 300 additional teenagers have been arrested on similar suspicions, and some are still under investigation. The article focuses on the story of Yaroslav Suzansky, who was 16 when he encountered an ad on Telegram promising 'easy money.' For about $165, he was asked to set fire to a railway relay cabinet. He then received a larger offer: $1,430 for a mission involving an explosive device. He was sent to a hotel on the outskirts of Kyiv, where backpacks containing military uniforms and an explosive device were left outside his room. Ukrainian intelligence officers arrested him before he could complete the mission. 'Those 60,000 hryvnias turned into five years in prison,' he said. Suzansky was 13 when the Russian invasion began. His father and stepfather were drafted into the army, and his mother was left to support three children alone. A bureaucratic error led to the cessation of support payments, plunging the family into debt. Another case is that of Oleksiy Babkov, now 17, who lived under Russian occupation in the city of Vovchansk. His handlers asked him to find additional young people. One of the recruits was Vikenty, his 15-year-old friend, who placed an explosive device outside a police station in Kharkiv. The explosion caused no casualties. A report by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights described a 'surge in credible allegations' that Russia used Ukrainian children for surveillance, sabotage, and arson. Russia denies the accusations.