Children and young people in Russian-occupied Crimea are being taught to fly drones, shoot assault rifles and dismantle them, according to Ukraine's Defence Intelligence agency, known as DIU. In a Telegram statement, the agency said the instruction involved drones and other equipment belonging to the Russian military.
Around 50 schoolchildren in Sevastopol, ranging in age from seven to 18, qualified in late October for the regional round of competitions organised by Russia's Movement of the First and the so-called Drone Racing Federation. DIU also reported drone training for university students in the city, saying they were learning with simulators, real drones and equipment used by Russian forces in the war.
The activities described by the agency extend beyond drone instruction. Across schools in occupied Crimea, children are being taught to fire weapons, take apart Kalashnikov assault rifles and march in formation in response to commands. DIU presented these lessons as part of Russian efforts to make military training a routine feature of childhood in the occupied territories.
Schools also hold games and challenges described as military and patriotic, involving people who have participated in Russia's war against Ukraine, the agency said. Students are forced to learn songs by Russian singers who promote the war, adding another element to the activities DIU described.
Alongside those educational measures, occupation authorities are recruiting for Russian security agencies and encouraging people to sign service contracts with the Unmanned Systems Forces. People who have fought against Ukraine are receiving senior posts in occupation administrations, while schools are installing memorial plaques for Russian soldiers killed in Ukraine, according to DIU.
The intelligence agency said these measures serve to justify Russia's aggression and encourage children to view war as an ordinary part of life. It described the aim as extending beyond maintaining control of Crimea to raising a generation that accepts Russia's war, military instruction at school and hostility towards Ukraine.
The report follows coverage by Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia in March about Russian efforts to train schoolchildren to operate combat drones. Citing Ukraine's Foreign Intelligence Service, that report said Russian military personnel who had fought against Ukraine were conducting the classes. Drone operator training formed part of a federal course called Fundamentals of Security and Defence of the Motherland.
Such classes had been introduced in the Kursk, Nizhny Novgorod and Vologda regions, among others. In Vladivostok, plans called for incorporating drones into mathematics and physics lessons. Ukrainska Pravda.Zhyttia had also previously reported that Russia was introducing subjects promoting patriotic education and loyalty to Russia in schools in Ukraine's occupied territories.
