Ukraine's Security Service highlights alarming trend: Russian intelligence recruiting minors for terrorist acts
A startling statistic has emerged from Ukraine's Security Service (SBU), revealing that about 22% of those recruited by Russian intelligence for terrorist activities in Ukraine are minors. Speaking on air, the SBU’s spokesperson, Artem Dehtyarenko, highlighted the disturbing trend of children being used to orchestrate sabotage and terror attacks. Watch the statement here.
Among those recruited, a significant portion are unemployed (55%) and individuals with various dependencies, who are more vulnerable to psychological manipulation. "Our statistics show that 22% of the identified perpetrators are minors, 55% are unemployed, and 7% have previous criminal convictions for various offenses. These groups are more susceptible to manipulation because young people cannot fully comprehend the consequences of their actions, and those with dependencies are driven by financial need at any cost," Dehtyarenko noted.
According to SBU reports, incidents such as arson attacks on military vehicles and railway sabotage have surged since May 2024. By early 2025, Russians began recruiting children for terrorist activities. Some of the youngest recruits, aged just 13, were assigned to set fire to Ukrainian rail infrastructure. Meanwhile, the National Police reports a decrease in the number of cases where children have been recruited compared to last year. Nonetheless, there has been a rise in reports regarding attempts to recruit minors.
Motivations for children to cooperate with adversaries include financial gain, psychological pressure, blackmail, and the romanticization of criminal activities. The police urge parents, educators, and teenagers to contact law enforcement if they detect recruitment attempts, to prevent the involvement of children in terrorism.