Russia persecutes children under the guise of “countering extremism”

Russia persecutes children under the guise of “countering extremism”.

In 2024, the occupation authorities of the so-called “DPR” reported prosecuting 161 Ukrainian minors as alleged “radicals.” Shockingly, 48 of them were forcibly placed in psychiatric facilities as punishment for so-called “extremism.”

According to Almenda, Russia systematically targets children and youth in the temporarily occupied territories of Donetsk. Under the pretext of “state and public order,” occupation forces use schools, education, and youth policy as key tools of repression.

Children face criminal charges, forced psychiatric confinement, and administrative penalties such as fines. From September 2025, a new article of Russia’s Code of Administrative Offenses will impose fines of up to 5,000 rubles on minors for the “deliberate search of extremist materials” online — including through VPNs or other circumvention tools.

This is yet another violation of international law, proving Russia’s deliberate persecution and psychological abuse of Ukrainian children.