The head of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine Kyrylo Budanov gave an interview on YouTube on Tuesday, where he spoke about the specifics of recruiting children for terrorist activities.
The main method of recruiting teenagers is financial incentive, Budanov said.
“We have always worked this way. Let’s be honest, this is not some kind of new technique. It has always been this way. Money. What does a teenager need? To have fun, hang out, go somewhere with a girlfriend, buy an iPhone, which is quite expensive,” he added.
Meanwhile, Igor Khor, acting head of the national resistance policy department at the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, said during a round table discussion that Ukraine is considering preparing children from the age of 14 for national resistance, and that they will also study a new subject called “Defence of Ukraine.”
“The cycle of preparing citizens for national resistance begins at age 14… We take 14-year-olds, form “Dzhura” and “Sokol” groups, and then they undergo training in the new subject “Defence of Ukraine,” Khor said.
A compulsory subject, “Fundamentals of National Resistance,” will be introduced in higher education institutions. Khor noted that as part of the course, students will be taught how to handle weapons.
In early July, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine announced that Ukrainian schoolchildren would begin training in the operation of FPV drones.
The ministry approved an updated list of teaching aids and equipment for teaching new subjects in schools, which includes FPV drone simulators, the drones themselves, and tactical equipment.
In addition, the list includes tablets, multimedia equipment, simulators, radio stations, protective equipment and other technologies that were previously only available to the military or rescue workers.
