How Russian Intelligence uses children for crimes in Ukraine and why Europe must act now
Since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, a new and alarming form of online threat has emerged: the use of children for security-related crimes via digital platforms. These cases bear all the hallmarks of child exploitation – built on trust manipulation, psychological coercion, and digital entrapment.
The Problem: Digital Use as a Weapon of War
Posing as employers, online friends, gaming contacts, or members of so-called patriotic communities, Russian agents reach out to Ukrainian children through Telegram, TikTok, Roblox, and other online platforms. They offer fast money – in exchange for photos of “non-sensitive” locations, stickers, or graffiti. But as trust grows, the requests escalate: setting fires, installing explosives, or sending coordinates of military equipment.
These acts are criminally prosecuted in Ukraine as sabotage, terrorism, or treason. Some children have died while following online instructions to make improvised explosives. Others are now serving sentences – despite being victims of targeted manipulation.
The Scale: From Isolated Incidents to Systemic Practice
Ukrainian law enforcement has recorded dozens of cases involving minors recruited for war-related crimes. According to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), more than 700 individuals were detained between the spring of 2024 and the end of 2025 on suspicion of offences against national security. Approximately one quarter of those detained were children and adolescents under the age of 18. Most acted without fully understanding what they were doing or under direct pressure.
The average age is 14–16. Motivations include curiosity, financial need, desire to earn their own income, desire to belong or revenge for personal loss. Many children lived in vulnerable families or lacked adult supervision. Some had prior trauma or exposure to violence.
The Cycle: A Clear Pattern of Exploitation
- Targeting and initial contact: through social media, messaging apps, gaming platforms.
- Trust-building: friendly tone, “safe” tasks, patriotic framing.
- Escalation of assignments: from taking photos to physical sabotage.
- Criminal entrapment: recruiters collect videos or screenshots to use as leverage.
- Blackmail and coercion: “Do what we say or we’ll report you.”
- Full dependency: fear, guilt, and loyalty trap the child.
Five main manipulation strategies are used:
- Enticement with money
- Gradual escalation and trust-building
Example: A 15-year-old girl was initially asked to take street photos. Two months later, she was instructed to assemble an explosive “for fun.” - Blackmail and threats
Example: A boy was forced to build a device under threat of publishing compromising images from a previous “prank.” - Exploitation of vulnerabilities
Example: For example, a boy from a troubled family was convinced that he was carrying out an important secret mission that would earn him recognition and respect from others. He later set fire to a military vehicle. - Creating a sense of impunity
Example: Two 12-year-old boys were given a task through a video game to set fire to a railway relay cabinet. They were told it was part of the game challenge and assured that nothing would happen to them since they were below the age of criminal responsibility.
What Needs to Be Done: Prevention and Response
- Children must be informed. Schools and families must talk about online exploitation and use of children just as they do about cyberbullying or sexual exploitation.
- Communities must notice. Adults should look for warning signs – changes in behavior, new contacts, secretive online activity – and know how to respond.
- Digital platforms must act. Telegram, TikTok, Roblox and others must detect, report and remove recruiters.
- Governments must protect. Children in conflict with the law must be screened for signs of coercion or exploitation – and treated accordingly.
Governments should ensure that responses to children used in conflict-related and security-related activities are consistent with the Paris Principles and Guidelines on Children Associated with Armed Forces or Armed Groups (2007). Children who have been exploited, coerced, or manipulated into participating in such activities should be recognized primarily as victims and provided with protection, rehabilitation, and reintegration support.
Why This Matters to Europe
What started in a warzone could spread far beyond. Approximately 1.303 million Ukrainian children under the age of 18 live in the 27 EU Member States. They are likewise at risk of being used by Russian intelligence services to gather information and carry out crimes against national security across Europe. The digital tools, using patterns and psychological tactics are not unique to Ukraine. Also every European country has vulnerable children who use the same platforms and also may be at risk.
The misuse of technology to exploit children and use them for espionage purposes is not only a Ukrainian concern – it’s a challenge for Europe as a whole.
Child online safety is child protection.
And protecting children from digital exploitation and use of children is a duty without borders.
For further information, please contact:
Tamara Buhaiets, NGO AUPC Volunteer, Ukraine (t.buhaiets@volunteer.kyiv.ua)
Tetiana Zhuravel, NGO AUPC Volunteer, Ukraine (t.zhuravel@volunteer.kyiv.ua)
