Russia Enrolls 1,615 Children in Occupied Kherson Oblast in “Military-Patriotic” Program
Volodymyr Saldo, the Russian-installed head of occupied Kherson Oblast, says 1,615 Ukrainian children attend six after-school centers that include “military-patriotic” classes. Ukraine and the International Criminal Court treat the deportation and re-education of children as a crime.
A total of 1,615 children in the Russian-occupied part of Ukraine's Kherson Oblast are taking “military-patriotic” classes, according to Volodymyr Saldo, the governor installed there by Russia. He announced the figure on Telegram. The classes are offered at six after-school centers alongside art, sports and crafts, and form part of a Russian national youth program. Ukraine views such activity as part of an effort to raise children from occupied territories as Russians and possibly prepare them for war.
What Saldo says
Saldo said the centers, including those in Henichesk, Novotroitske and Chaplynka, operate under Russia's national “Youth and Children” project. In his account, the 1,615 pupils attend clubs in art, technical work, sports, tourism, local history and crafts, in addition to the military-patriotic classes.
A path toward conscription
Since 2022, Russia has deported nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children, by Ukraine's count, placing them with Russian families or in institutions and subjecting them to “re-education” intended to erase their Ukrainian identity. For teenagers, this can lead from a Russian passport to conscription at 18. Among 14 children Ukraine recovered from occupied Kherson Oblast in late September, a 16-year-old boy was being forced onto Russia's military registration rolls.
In 2023, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and his children's rights commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, over the illegal deportation of children from occupied Ukraine.
Returns remain slow
Ukraine has brought back only 2,000 children since 2022, including 204 from occupied Kherson Oblast this year, through the Bring Kids Back UA program and the charity Save Ukraine. The number returned remains far smaller than the number Russia still holds and continues to add to.
