The Russian government is running a secret state program to prepare children for military action, including the construction and piloting of combat drones, an investigation by journalists Tatyana Ashurkevich and Hristo Grozev reveals in a new episode of the video blog "The Christo Files". At the heart of the scheme are supposedly educational games and science competitions that actually serve as a disguised recruitment and training of minors in the service of the war in Ukraine.
The program begins with the video game "Berloga", funded by the state and popular among students across Russia. In it, teenagers pilot virtual drones, and the best ones receive bonuses for school exams. They are then directed to real courses in controlling and assembling unmanned aerial vehicles.
In parallel, computer competitions organized under names such as "Grand Challenges", "Archipelago" and "Skat" gather students from all over the country. Although announced as scientific, the competitions are held with the direct participation of sanctioned defense companies such as "Sukhoi", "Yakovlev" and "Rosatom". The children solve technical tasks with obvious military potential - designing sensors for detecting drones, laser charging devices and mechanisms for "illuminating" targets.
The participants receive university preferences, cash prizes and promises of a future career in the defense industry. However, the organizers instruct the children to keep quiet about the true military focus of the tasks. However, according to testimonies, many of them fully understand what they are building - and for whom.
Journalist Tanya Ashurkevich collects first-hand testimonies from children who admit to developing technologies for the Russian military. One of them says that he "knows that what he has done will be used against Ukrainian civilians", but "no one says it out loud".
According to international humanitarian law, minors have no right to be involved in any form of military action, including technical training and support for military structures. The investigation claims that Russia is building a state-controlled "conveyor" for child combat personnel, violating basic principles of children's rights.
Meanwhile, Ukraine is also including drones in its curriculum, but for a completely different purpose - training in spatial orientation and control, without combat elements. The FPV drones used in the new "Defense of Ukraine" program are miniature, with an educational function, the Ukrainian Ministry of Education claims.
The revelations by Ashurkevich and Grozev have provoked a sharp reaction among human rights organizations and media in Western Europe. The Guardian, Politico, Tagesspiegel and The Insider have already published summaries of the key findings. Analysts expect the topic to be raised at the UN and in international courts.
The case raises serious questions about how far Russia is willing to go to maintain its war, and what future is being built for a generation raised not for peace, but for participation in wars and violence.
The topic is eerily reminiscent of the plot of the film "Ender's Game" (Ender's Game) - a film adaptation of the novel of the same name by Orson Scott Card, in which children are trained through simulations and games to wage interstellar war, without realizing that they are already participating in it. At that time, science fiction seemed like a distant allegory, but today, as the investigation shows, reality is gradually encroaching on the territory of fantasy - teenagers are piloting drones and developing war technologies under the guise of games and "innovative training". This not only blurs the boundaries between childhood and the battlefield, but also poses new moral and legal challenges to the global community.