Children from the temporarily occupied Luhansk region are sent to various regions of Russia for "health improvement" and "recreation." However, in addition to cultural, entertainment, and sports programs, teenagers are also prepared for service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The camps aim to foster "patriotism," readiness for war, and living according to "guidelines."
Journalist from TRIBUN investigated the summer campaigns organized by the occupiers for children, where Russians take teenagers for "recreation," and how the militarization of youth occurs in the camps.
"Time of Heroes": Preparing Youth for Service in the Russian Army
Militarized camps where the occupiers send children from the Luhansk region are located in Russia. According to the National Resistance Center map, there are 19 known locations. One such camp is the defense-sports camp "Avangard" in the Volgograd region. This year, the military-sports shift "Time of Heroes" started at its base, attended by teenagers from occupied Luhansk.
Enemy resources claim that "the shift is aimed at preparing young people for service in the Armed Forces, fostering courageous, physically strong, and strong-willed patriots of the country who have acquired specialized knowledge and competencies."
From May 28 to June 16, the youth underwent engineering, tactical, firearms, and parachute training, studied communication organization concepts, national security basics, UAV piloting, and tactical medicine.
The training did not go without propagandist cultural events: visits to the "Stalingrad Battle" Museum-Panorama, Mamayev Kurgan, and tours of Volgograd.
By the end of June, it became known that another 138 children from the occupied Luhansk region were sent to the "Avangard" camp.
In addition to military training, sports activities and chess tournaments were introduced for schoolchildren.
Russia is actively militarizing the youth to replenish its mobilization reserve and volunteer units in the future. In particular, this process influences children to identify themselves as "Russians" from an early age.
Summer "Recreation": From Luhansk Region to Russia
The occupiers organized numerous camps in various regions of Russia for children from the Luhansk region, allegedly aiming to improve the health of the youth, create conditions for recreation, and take them away from the war. For instance, 95 schoolchildren from Pervomaisk were sent to the "Druzhba" sports and health center in the town of Maloyaroslavets, Kaluga region.
Another 400 children from Dovzhansk were sent to the "Romashka" sports and health complex in Taganrog. There, during a 21-day shift, children participate in sports and creative activities.
From the former Slovianoserbsk district, 760 children went to camps in the Krasnodar region. According to the enemy information resource "LIC," "the recreation program is aimed at identifying the creative abilities of the children. Schoolchildren will participate in competitions, master classes, dance, vocal, theatrical arts, and artistic creativity sessions."
Quest games, concerts, sports competitions, dances, and master classes were prepared for children from Kadiivka (Stakhanov) and Antratsyt in Stavropol camps.
Occupational media "Luhansk 24" notes that "a total of 530 children from Antratsyt and 100 from Stakhanov will rest in Stavropol camps this year. A hundred kids have already arrived at the "Sosnovy Bor" children's camp in Kislovodsk, and 35 children at the "Mashuk" children's camp in Pyatigorsk."
Summer campaigns are still ongoing. Although the occupiers talk about the positive aspects of children's camps and show photos of happy children, the reality is quite different.
Why Are Occupying Summer Campaigns Dangerous?
Camps are places where children are most influenced by Russian propaganda. The occupiers specifically instill "love" for the Russian Federation through excursions, various "patriotic" events, and preparations for service in the Russian army, changing their self-identification.
It is worth noting that this is also a way of deporting children. The Institute for the Study of War's report from May 28, 2024, emphasizes that "the Russian authorities are preparing to intensify the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia during the summer of 2024, further solidifying another component of Russia's genocide campaign in Ukraine."
"Despite Russia's attempts to create summer camps for Ukrainian children as temporary recreational and educational events, they are a fundamental component of Russia's campaign to deport Ukrainians, including children, to Russia. The forced transfer of children from one group to another is a recognized act of genocide, and therefore Russia's multifaceted schemes to deport Ukrainian children to Russia can be qualified as acts of genocide," analysts from ISW assert.
At the same time, the report states that "Ukrainian children who have been deported to Russia for such 'vacations' or 'summer camps' face Russification programs based on isolating them from their Ukrainian families, language, culture, and history."
According to the National Information Bureau on the "Children of War" portal, 19,546 people have been deported and/or forcibly relocated.
