Russia is targeting schoolchildren through video games, contests, and academic programs to push them toward building weapons and other military capabilities, including unmanned aerial systems used in the country’s war with Ukraine.
The effort is part of Moscow’s broader objective to recruit minors into the defense sector by framing it as casual school activities, according to a report by The Insider.
These state-supported activities target students as young as 13, with projects organized in collaboration with the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, a government organization supporting small trades, young professionals, and social projects.
Funneled Into Defense Jobs
Russia’s schoolchildren utilization primarily incorporates drone design, coding, and electronic warfare, according to sources.
In several cases, the young people are tasked to work directly on military initiatives, with some even attending hands-on hardware and software-related projects inside official defense centers.
Other developments are centered on frontline equipment and training on autonomous systems piloting.
One Russian gaming platform identified in the report is found to have already attracted more than 600,000 users to join the program, with terms offering additional points on the country’s school-leaving exam which could help the students’ chances of getting admitted into university.
A related competition using the platform’s credentials, which focused on technical challenges and sanctions-related problems provided by defense contractors, drew more than 16,000 applicants this year.
Teenagers interviewed by The Insider said that companies working with Russia’s Ministry of Defence hire youngsters through flexible and task-based roles, often with parental consent.
The minors said they were paid for each assignment, a majority with projects involving technology or engineering tasks, while some admitted they knew their work was helping the military but viewed it as a voluntary act of patriotism and not forced recruitment.
Drones in Russia
The Kremlin’s recruitment of schoolchildren to support its drone program violates multiple international conventions and puts Russian minors at risk, as drone production sites could become military targets for Ukraine, a report from The Guardian said.
Currently, Russia is predicted to scale up its drone manufacturing to enable as many as 2,000 strikes per day by November, the German Ministry of Defence revealed earlier this month.
Unmanned systems have reshaped the battlefield in the now three-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Since launching its full-scale invasion in 2022, Moscow has deployed more than 28,000 attack drones against Ukrainian forces, TVP World reported.
