Russians in Kherson region are training children for service in security forces

Russians in occupied Ukrainian territories continue to systematically militarize children by preparing them for service in the country’s punitive institutions, the National Resistance Center (NRC) reported.

“In schools in the temporarily occupied districts of Henichesk, Chaplynka, and Novotroitske [in Kherson Region], starting in 2026, cadet classes of the Russian Investigative Committee are planned for ‘motivated students,’” the report states.

The NRC noted that this is about the forced militarization of children and their early recruitment into the repressive system of the occupying state.

“Notably, the agreements to open these classes were personally signed by Dmytro Malikov, head of the Russian Investigative Committee in Kherson, which directly indicates the departmental and personnel-driven nature of the project,” the report adds.

These cadet classes create a closed path for children: “school — departmental education — service,” the NRC said.

Instead of fostering critical thinking, students are trained from an early age in discipline, hierarchy, and unconditional obedience, the NRC notes.

“In this case, education is not used to develop the individual but as a tool to produce loyal enforcers for the repressive system.”

Meanwhile, the presence of the Russian Investigative Committee – the main federal body responsible for criminal investigations – is being normalized in civilian life. Through symbols, events, and constant interaction with schools, the security agency integrates itself into the daily life of communities as a standard of social institution.

“The boundary between the learning environment and the punitive structure is erased, changing how violence and state coercion are perceived,” the report says.

According to NRC sources, participation in the cadet classes is not truly voluntary. Insiders report informal instructions to school administrations to create recommended lists of students, particularly from socially vulnerable families. Parents who refuse face pressure from the school, conflicts with administration, or subtle isolation of their child.

“Thus, the Russian Investigative Committee cadet classes in occupied Kherson are not an educational project but a tool of occupation policy. Their purpose is the early indoctrination of students, the preparation of a personnel reserve for punitive institutions, and the entrenchment of a militarized model for the region’s future at the expense of children,” the NRC concluded.