Over the past three years, Russian intelligence services have recruited more than 40 children from the Kharkiv region to carry out criminal activities.
These data were provided by the head of the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office, Yurii Papusha, during a meeting with the UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, Virginia Gamba, and a UNICEF delegation.
“During 2023–2026, law enforcement authorities uncovered at least 40 children in the Kharkiv region who had been recruited by Russian intelligence services. They were not merely encouraged to cooperate — the children were assigned specific criminal tasks against Ukraine. These actions have already received a legal assessment: the minors have been held criminally liable,” the prosecutor’s office stated.
Law enforcement agencies are identifying Russian representatives who recruited the children and coordinated their actions.
Authorities also noted a concerning trend of increasing involvement of minors in illegal activities via digital platforms.
“These are not isolated cases, but deliberate attempts by the enemy to draw children into crimes against the state, including sabotage and terrorist acts,” Papusha emphasized.
He also provided statistics showing that as a result of Russian armed aggression in the region, 113 children have been killed and 685 injured. More than 630 pieces of children’s infrastructure have been damaged.
