Russia uses children as cheap labour in occupied Ukraine

Russian occupying authorities in Enerhodar of the southern region of Zaporizhzhia are using Ukrainian children in rescue and municipal services via cheap labor amid a staffing shortage, Ukraine’s National Resistance Center (NRC) reports.

“In temporarily occupied Enerhodar, a new practice is emerging to fill staffing gaps in rescue and municipal services by relying on youth. Under the guise of creating a ‘safety resource centre,’ the occupation administration is launching ‘children’s units,’” the NRC writes.

These underage units are publicly presented as educational and volunteer initiatives. In reality, schoolchildren and students are being tasked with auxiliary duties, and in some cases physically dangerous work, in a city that remains close to the front line.

“The staffing situation in occupier-controlled services is critical: some rescuers have been mobilized, others resigned due to low pay and lack of guarantees, and some were placed on reduced schedules,” the NRC reports.

Faced with this shortage, the occupation administration seeks a quick workforce that requires no salaries, benefits, or formal employment.

“NRC sources in educational institutions report that youth participation in ‘safety units’ is effectively coerced through schools and colleges as mandatory practice or socially useful activity,” the report adds.

Training is minimal, and safety and insurance provisions are ignored. Meanwhile, children are being prepared to operate in emergency situations in a city where the risk of shelling and industrial accidents remains high.

“Children’s safety units are not about education — they are about replacing missing staff with cheap, controllable labour. The occupation authorities are shifting their management failures onto minors, normalizing their involvement in risky scenarios,” the NRC said.