A military-sports camp called “Avangard” operates in Russia’s Volgograd region, where Russian authorities “educate” children from temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories. Officially, the camp claims to focus on “patriotic education” and “recreation,” but in reality, it is a center for the forced militarization of Ukrainian youth. According to occupation media, at least 59 children from the Kherson region were sent there in the summer of 2024 alone. Russian sources confirm that “Avangard” operates with the support of the Russian Ministry of Defense and hosts over 80,000 children annually, including not just Russians but also teenagers from occupied Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporizhzhia, and Kherson regions.   

The camp’s program includes intensive military training: children learn to handle weapons, participate in drill exercises, receive instruction in tactical medicine and drone operation, and take part in military-historical reenactments. They march in military uniforms, attend propaganda lectures, and undergo field training in combat simulation zones. The goal is clear—to prepare them for possible conscription into the Russian armed forces once they reach adulthood.   

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⚠️ Militarization of Ukrainian children: an attempt to erase identity 

Russia systematically exploits abducted and deported Ukrainian children for its own purposes. Military-sports camps like “Avangard” and training centers under the “Warrior” network are not just places for physical training—they are tools for ideological indoctrination. Children are forced to study history using Russian textbooks, sing the Russian anthem, and are told that Ukraine no longer exists. They face immense psychological pressure as their names are changed, they are forced to accept Russian citizenship, and they are told their families no longer want them back.    

Militarization extends beyond these camps. Many children we have rescued from occupied territories report that their schools included military training in the curriculum—teaching them to march, assemble and disassemble firearms, and practice tactical medicine. They also describe being forced to join paramilitary organizations like “Yunarmiya” and “Movement of the First.” Parents who tried to prevent their children from participating were threatened with the loss of parental rights or even having their children taken away.   

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⚠️ Why Is Russia Doing This? 

Moscow is deliberately shaping obedient soldiers for its army. By using Ukrainian children as a resource to replenish its military forces, Russia is attempting to erase their national identity. This is a targeted act of genocide—an effort to sever their connection to their homeland and assimilate them into the “Russkiy Mir” (“Russian world”). 

Additionally, the Kremlin is working to justify these actions both domestically and internationally by creating the illusion of voluntary participation. Russian media promotes stories of children who “willingly choose military training,” but few acknowledge the daily psychological pressure and propaganda these children endure.   

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⚠️ What Can Be Done? 

The forced militarization of Ukrainian children is a blatant violation of international law. It directly contradicts the Geneva Convention, which prohibits the recruitment of children for military activities in the temporarily occupied territories, as well as the UN Security Council resolution on the protection of children in armed conflicts. Russia must be held accountable for these crimes.   

Ukrainian and international organizations must strengthen efforts to bring abducted children home. Strict sanctions should be imposed on individuals involved in child deportations, and international legal action against Russia must be intensified. The return of these children must be a top priority in all diplomatic negotiations.   

We cannot allow another generation of Ukrainians to grow up without their homeland. The abducted children must be brought home. This is not just a humanitarian issue—it is a fight for Ukraine’s future.