Almost a third of solved crimes related to terrorist attacks were committed by minors: Ihor Klymenko
In the face of a full-scale Russian invasion, Ukrainian teenagers are actively involved in supporting the country’s defenders, participating in volunteer initiatives, collecting humanitarian aid, and producing ammunition and information materials for the front. At the same time, there are minors who are being involved in committing terrorist acts and sabotage, carrying out criminal orders from the enemy. This duality of adolescent activity becomes a challenge for law enforcement agencies and society as a whole, because even in times of war, young citizens can be both a resource for the state and a tool for the aggressor.
Scale of participation of minors in crimes
Minister of Internal Affairs Ihor Klymenko spoke during a briefing about the involvement of Ukrainian adolescents in terrorist crimes. According to him, employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other law enforcement agencies solved 78% of crimes related to terrorist activities, with 28% of these cases being committed by minors.
In addition, out of 596 cases of arson of cars belonging to police officers and servicemen of territorial recruitment centers (TCK), law enforcement officers solved 367. Among them, 107 cases were committed by minors.
Such figures demonstrate the seriousness of the problem and at the same time emphasize that some adolescents become the object of recruitment and use in criminal activities that threaten the security of the country.
Recruitment and the mechanism of involvement in terrorist attacks
The Security Service of Ukraine previously reported that Russia had begun systematically recruiting not only teenagers, but also the elderly for sabotage and terrorist attacks. In 2023, Putin approved a plan called “Sabotage Noise”, aimed at the widest possible involvement of agents for arson, terrorist attacks and sabotage on the territory of Ukraine.
Russian curators use teenagers as a tool for terrorist operations, calling them “meat” and actually turning them into suicide bombers. According to available data, they control the execution of tasks through geolocation systems, determine when a teenager approaches a target with an explosive device, and initiate the detonation. One of the tragic cases occurred in the Ivano-Frankivsk region, where two teenagers died when an improvised explosive device was detonated at a facility designated by the curator.
The active involvement of minors in terrorist acts complicates the work of law enforcement agencies, creates an additional threat to the civilian population, and reduces the effectiveness of volunteer initiatives aimed at supporting defenders. This phenomenon also demonstrates the extent to which the enemy’s strategy includes psychological and social pressure, trying to undermine the security and morale of Ukrainian society through its youngest members.
To counter this phenomenon, Ukrainian law enforcement and social services should strengthen preventive work with adolescents, ensure control over sources of information and training on social networks, and expand volunteer and educational programs that allow young citizens to participate in helping the state in legal and safe ways. The key task remains to prevent the recruitment of minors and protect them from involvement in terrorist and subversive actions.
