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Militarization of Ukrainian children must be recognized as a crime against humanity. On the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, it has been ongoing for years and remains unpunished. Tens of thousands of children are forced to grow up in a world of propaganda, fear, and imposed military narratives. What should be their inalienable right to education is turned into a tool of aggression. Schools become training grounds for war, and cadet classes instill obedience rather than childlike curiosity, Dmytro Lubinets, the Verkhovna Rada Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement.
Since 2014, the militarization of education has affected more and more children. According to Yale University, since February 2022, Ukrainian children have been forcibly transferred to at least 210 institutions in russia and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. In 62% of these, children are subjected to cultural, patriotic, and military propaganda, and in 19%, they undergo military training, including combat drills, parades, and drone operations. This is a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law and a crime against Ukrainian children.
They are forced to join military and pseudo-patriotic organizations such as “Yunarmiya,” “Orlyata Rossii,” “Voyn,” and “Zarnitsa 2.0.” And on February 17, the so-called “Day of the russian Cadet” was celebrated in the Luhansk region.The militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories is taking new forms. Starting September 1, schools in the temporarily occupied Donetsk, Makiivka, Dokuchaievsk, and Mariupol will introduce so-called “Cossack classes” for fifth-grade students as a mandatory part of the school curriculum. This is not a sporadic action by the aggressor. It is a deliberate, well-thought-out policy and a strategy of war.
Currently, these actions remain without proper legal assessment. The systemic militarization of Ukrainian children in the occupied territories is unprecedented in modern history. How can the world continue to remain silent in the face of this crime? Silence is complicity in the crime against children.
I call on Ukraine’s law enforcement agencies, the international community, and the International Criminal Court to recognize the systemic militarization of children as a crime against humanity and ensure that those responsible are held accountable.
Those who have stolen childhood from children must answer before the law.
