Putin is raising a child army or Russia’s plan for the assimilative genocide of Ukraine and the Ukrainian nation

On February 3, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree strengthening the Soviet-era totalitarian relic known as DOSAAF, fully subordinating it to his so-called Ministry of Attack of the Russian Federation. This is not just another bureaucratic document but a key part of Russia’s overarching plan to carry out the assimilative genocide of Ukraine and the Ukrainian nation.  

Our colleagues from the independent media outlet Center for Investigative Journalism have drawn attention to reports from the occupation administration in temporarily occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast. These reports reveal that Russian forces have already recruited around 1,000 children into the so-called Yunarmiya (Young Army), a paramilitary youth organization designed to indoctrinate them and erase their Ukrainian identity. These children are being trained to assist the Russian army and, ultimately, to participate in combat against Ukraine.  

The Yunarmiya was founded by the very same DOSAAF, which has now been administratively strengthened by Putin’s decree. This makes it clear that the indoctrination of children into the cult of victory mania is a deliberate and systematic Russian policy.  

Polish-American legal scholar of Jewish origin, Raphael Lemkin, introduced the term genocide into international law in 1944. He defined it as:  

«A coordinated plan of different actions aimed at destroying the fundamental foundations of the life of national groups, with the aim of annihilating the groups themselves.» 

Lemkin emphasized that genocide does not necessarily mean the direct physical destruction of a group but rather the implementation of a plan to deprive a group of the necessary conditions for its existence – by eroding its political and social institutions, language, culture, and religion. Our colleagues from the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory have extensively covered Lemkin’s research and stance on the matter.  

Notably, in 2015, the Russian Federation banned Lemkin’s writings on the Soviet genocide in Ukraine, adding them to its «federal list of extremist materials».  

By indoctrinating Ukrainian children in occupied territories and instilling hatred toward Ukraine and their own people, Putin and his clique are committing an assimilative genocide of the Ukrainian nation. Putin’s decree on DOSAAF and the occupation administration’s reports uncovered by Ukrainian journalists serve as undeniable proof that this genocidal policy is premeditated and actively being carried out by the Russian regime.  

Thanks to the efforts of our colleagues, including MP Yevheniia Kravchuk, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has adopted a resolution on “Countering the Erasure of Cultural Identity in War and Peace”.  

We demand that the Russian government immediately cease this criminal practice and call upon Ukrainian media, civil society organizations, and our international partners to focus attention on Russia’s war crimes. These crimes must be documented to ensure that those responsible face justice – sooner or later.