The OSCE expert mission under the Moscow Mechanism has concluded that russia's militarization of Ukrainian children is part of a systemic state policy and may qualify as a crime against humanity. This is the first time an international organization has made such a conclusion.
This is stated in a report prepared by three independent experts from France, Latvia and the United Kingdom.
The document notes that russia is forcibly integrating children in the occupied territories of Ukraine into its education system, displacing the Ukrainian language and imposing russian state propaganda.
Russia trains Ukrainian children for military service
According to experts, the russian authorities are involving children in paramilitary training and building support for the war against Ukraine. They are being taught to use weapons, fly drones, take tactical medicine courses and are being prepared to join russian military structures.
The report emphasizes that children's participation in this system is ensured through pressure on them, their parents and teachers. This is done by using threats, and by restricting access to education and social services.
The experts emphasize that these are not isolated cases, but a centralized state policy. It concerns more than 20,610 Ukrainian children who, according to the Ukrainian authorities, have been deported to russia, as well as an unknown but significant number of children who remain in the temporarily occupied territories.
According to the mission, this system begins with propaganda for children aged six and up, continues with military training in schools from the age of 13 and can end with the conscription of boys into the russian army upon reaching adulthood.
OSCE points to possible war crimes
The authors of the report note that russia's actions may violate the norms of international humanitarian law and international human rights law. In addition, experts point to signs of possible war crimes, including torture and inhuman treatment.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said that the militarization, indoctrination, forced assimilation and deportation of Ukrainian children have a common goal - the destruction of Ukrainian identity.
"This is a crime against humanity. The fate of Ukrainian children should be one of the integral issues of any peace negotiations, and everyone involved in these crimes must bear responsibility," he stressed.
The main recommendation of the mission was to include the issue of Ukrainian children on the agenda of any peace negotiations.
The head of the presidential initiative Bring Kids Back UA, Maksym Maksymov, said that the consequences of such a policy pose a threat not only to Ukraine.
"A country that industrially raises children for aggression will sooner or later turn them against everyone. The world must stop this system now, not when these children grow up," he said.
What is the OSCE Moscow Mechanism
The Moscow Mechanism is a special OSCE procedure established in 1991. It allows participating states to send independent experts to investigate human rights violations in another participating state.
The new investigation was initiated on May 14, 2026 by 41 OSCE participating states. This is the sixth expert mission under the Moscow Mechanism dedicated to the situation in Ukraine since the beginning of russia's full-scale invasion. Russia refused to cooperate with the mission.
As a reminder, the aggressor country of russia continues to scale up the practice of militarizing children in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, turning adolescents into a mobilization resource for future wars.
Who we are: About us, Contacts. How we write news and our principles: Editorial code. We did our best. If you found this valuable – please support us.
To request a correction, please send an email.