Russia is allegedly putting Ukrainian children in military training, as well as re-educating them. This activity was revealed by the Yale School of Public Health's Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL).
Involved experts said that thousands of deported Ukrainian kids were seen being sent to Belarus. They claim that this has been happening ever since the Russia-Ukraine war began in February 2022. HRL further stated that Russia is working in tandem with the Belarusian government to organize the deportations.
Russia Allegedly Putting Ukrainian Children in Military Training
According to Business Insider's latest report, HRL researchers studied open-source research, as well as some high-resolution satellite images.
Based on the laboratory's observations, at least 2,445 Ukrainian kids have been deported to Belarus since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began.
HRL said that Belarus and Russia have been coordinating to transport children between the ages of six and 17 from Ukraine to Belarus. Experts claim that most of these innocent kids are subjected to military training and re-education.
Based on the study, Ukrainian kids are being deported in Belarus and taken to at least 13 facilities; eight of these facilities have re-education programs, which allegedly brainwash children to serve the political interests of Belarus.
HRL believes that some of these facilities even have military training programs, claiming that around nine groups of Ukrainian children were forced to undergo military training and re-education programs.
This means that deported Ukrainian kids have to handle firearms, endure wearing heavy body armor, as well as watch military lectures, parades, and combat demonstrations.
Aside from military training and re-education, HRL experts also claimed that Ukrainian kids were also given medical treatment; with some Belarusian hospitals forcing them to participate in group psychological correction and exercise therapy classes.
Russia Also Using Ukrainian POWs
Russia has been accused of taking advantage of Ukrainians for its invasion of their own home country. Aside from deporting children, the Associated Press recently reported that Russia also sent Ukrainian POWs (prisoners of war) on the front lines.
People familiar with this matter claim that some Ukrainian soldiers who were captured swore allegiance to the Russian government. Meanwhile, other military experts said that the Kremlin is just forcing them to join their troops.
"Russian authorities might claim they are recruiting them on a voluntary basis but it's hard to imagine a scenario where a prisoner of war's decision could be taken truly voluntarily, given the situation of coercive custody," said Human Rights Watch senior researcher Yulia Gorbunova.
