The Kremlin has established a complex network of pseudo-volunteer organizations with the aim of exerting control over young individuals and engaging them in Moscow’s anti-humanitarian agenda.
One such entity is the Movement of the First, which has been active in the temporarily occupied regions of Ukraine since the start of full-scale invasion. This movement coerces and persuades students from captured universities to join its ranks, with oversight from volunteers dispatched from russia through the occupying administrations.
Read more: Ukrainian Resistance Obtains Evidence of Teenagers Trained for Iranian Shahed Drone Manufacturing
Presently, the movement is enlisting students for internships at Alabushevo, where Iranian Shahed UAVs are manufactured. The recruitment process is framed as a competition by the Putin regime, and securing a position there is portrayed as a triumph.
Recruits as young as 16 years old are being sought, including minors, to contribute to the russian military-industrial complex. Roles such as cleaning or kitchen duties are also available. Essentially, the russians aim to exploit the humanitarian crisis to recruit Ukrainians into roles that work against their own country in the ongoing war.
Read more: The UK Defense Intelligence: russia Inflates Troop Numbers, Turns to Teens as War Drains Manpower
