Russia develops a network of reeducation camps for Ukrainian children – reports
Source: Regional Center for Human Rights/Facebook
Investigation by Ukraine’s Regional Center for Human Rights has identified the locations of Russian “reeducation camps” for Ukrainian children. At least, 13 such facilities have been found in occupied Ukrainian territory, 18 in Belarus, and 67 in Russia.
The growing number of such ‘reformation’ estalishments comes as a blatant attempt to “erase national identity, forcibly assimilate Ukrainian children” turning them into a tool for “Russia’s geopolitical objectives”.
Promoted as camps for children’s “recreation” or “rehabilitation”, they subject children to “intense propaganda fostering loyalty to their new homeland.” Children are also taught military skills in line with the standards of conscript soldier training.
In 2024, Russia’s goverment has reportedly increased funding of such camps by 11.6% compared to last year – it now stands at 76.8 billion rubles. According to statements from the occupation administrations, at least 40,000 Ukrainian children were sent to these “reeducation camps” during the summer of 2024 as part of the “Useful Vacations” project—almost twice as many as the previous year. Children from the occupied territories visited Moscow, St. Petersburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Tula as part of programs like “Cultural Map 4+85,” “Youth Route,” and “University Shifts.”
Moscow is actively expanding its network of “reeducation camps” in the occupied Ukrainian regions – it even opened a branch of the occupied “Artek” camp in Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia region. Another factor that contributes to ‘militarization’ of Ukrainian children is activities of “Akhmat” Peoples’ Friendship Academy and the “Warrior” center, led by Chechen goverment. Chechen officials launched a program called “Heroes’ Hour,” that sees Ukrainian children taught to shoot rifles, parachute, operate drones, and lay mines.
Human rights activists believe that such political indoctrination and militarization are international crimes that demand more decisive action.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.