In 2025, Ukraine faces not only an open war, but also hidden threats, one of which was a targeted recruitment campaign against children. Teenagers, who are just forming their personality, are increasingly becoming a target for Russian special services and agents of influence. According to official data, more than 60 cases of minors’ participation in subversive activities have already been recorded this year, and dozens more reported attempts to involve them in crimes against the state.
As reported Head of the Juvenile Police of Ukraine, Vasyl Bohdan, since the beginning of the year, law enforcement officers have documented 65 cases of subversive criminal offenses involving 62 children aged 13 to 17 years. According to Bohdan, behind each of these numbers there is not statistics, but broken destinies: “These are tragedies that could not have happened.”
The main motivation, as revealed during conversations with detained teenagers, is mostly a banal desire to make quick money. Some of the children saw participation in sabotage as a way to assert themselves, others sincerely believed that they would remain unpunished. According to Bohdan, none of the teenagers was aware of the risk to their own life or health. “They considered it an easy part-time job, often not even suspecting that they were working for the enemy,” he emphasized.
Despite the threatening scale, the juvenile police records positive changes: according to Bohdan, recently there has been a slight but steady decrease in cases of recruitment. This is facilitated by constant preventive work among young people, which is carried out in close cooperation with the SBU, educators and parents.
The threat is nationwide — cases are recorded throughout Ukraine, but large regions remain the most vulnerable, in particular, Kyiv, Kharkiv, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions. However, as the head of the juvenile police noted, this does not mean that the risks are lower in other regions – in fact, recruitment can affect any family, regardless of where they live.
The number of messages from children themselves about attempts to recruit them is increasing. According to Bohdan, now almost 70 teenagers have turned to the law enforcement officers, telling about the suspicious offers they received. This is a direct result of a large-scale information campaign, which juvenile prevention implements together with the Security Service of Ukraine. Policemen regularly come to schools, talk to children frankly, without moralizing, explaining exactly how the enemy works, what recruitment is and how it can end. At the same time, they work with parents and teachers — teach them to identify signs of a child’s involvement in danger and to respond correctly to threats.
“Our goal is not just to talk. We want the child to know that he is not alone and that he has the power to stop a crime before it is committed.” Bohdan emphasized.
As previously reported by the National Police, the recruitment of children by Russian agents often begins with minor assignments — to draw graffiti, post leaflets, or photograph military objects. However, such “assignments” quickly turn into serious crimes for which you have to answer.
Today, Ukrainian society, school, family, and the law enforcement system must be a single front capable of protecting children not only from physical danger, but also from psychological exploitation by the enemy.
