Propagandist from Crimea sentenced for recruiting Ukrainian children to the Russian army

A former Russian military officer was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison for propaganda. He called on Ukrainian youth to join the Russian army and starred in a propaganda film that violated international humanitarian law.

This was reported by the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol.

The director of the so-called "Krympatriot Center" was sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison with confiscation of property under the public prosecution of the Prosecutor's Office of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The man was found guilty of violating the laws and customs of war, as well as of publicly glorifying persons conducting armed aggression against Ukraine using the media.

The convict is a former Russian military serviceman who in 2022 headed the Crimean "center of military-patriotic education". In this position, he organized propaganda events, calling on children and adolescents on the temporarily occupied peninsula to join the army of the aggressor state, which is a gross violation of international humanitarian law.

In 2023, he took part in the filming of a propaganda movie, where he publicly justified and encouraged the involvement of minors in military service, creating a positive image of the Russian military. This film was published on pro-Russian platforms, including the website of a local TV channel and the rutube network.

According to the head of the autonomy's prosecutor's office, Ihor Ponochovny, the so-called Krympatriot Center is part of the Russian military propaganda system, which is trying to impose on children the idea that killing and dying for the occupying state is heroism. According to the official, the court gave a clear legal assessment of these actions, ensuring the inevitability of punishment for crimes against international humanitarian law.

Also in early April, law enforcement officers served a notice of suspicion to the head of the Varyag military-patriotic club, which promotes service in the Russian army among children and youth in the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. According to the investigation, back in December 2017, in Simferopol, he created and headed this club, where teenagers from the age of 14 were trained to join the armed forces of the aggressor state, which is a violation of the laws and customs of war.

Анна Бальчінос