14 September 2026
(PHOTO: Crimean Tatar Resource Center)
The occupiers transported a group of young people from the temporarily occupied Kherson region to Yekaterinburg to participate in the so-called International Youth Festival. In this way, the aggressor state continues to exploit Ukrainian citizens for its propaganda efforts and impose a Russian identity on them.
This was reported by the Crimean Tatar Resource Center.
<span><span><span><span><span><span>The occupiers claimed that 70 residents of the Kherson region allegedly competed for the opportunity to “represent” the region. Following the selection process, five people were chosen to join the delegation.</span></span></span></span></span></span>
<span><span><span><span><span><span>In total, approximately 10,000 young people from 191 countries are reportedly participating in the event. A “global youth march” was organized for the participants, and Putin, who was present at the event, called on them to join Russian projects or “build a just world” in their own countries. </span></span></span></span></span></span>
Earlier, in occupied Crimea, the Russians recruited teenagers as young as 14 to compete in drone-piloting contests as part of the so-called “Crimean Drone League.” Such events are part of the systematic militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories with the aim of eventually recruiting them into the Russian army. The competition took place in Simferopol at the Simferopol Technical College of Transport and Infrastructure.
The occupiers are using abducted Ukrainian children as a strategic resource, spending billions of rubles on their Russification and militarization. Russia pays particular attention to middle and high school-aged children.
Юлія Калабайда