‘Hell for children’: Putin grooming 7-year-old kids into killing Ukrainian children, dragging them into Russia's drone war, reveals report

Children as young as 7 are now being pulled into Russian President Vladimir Putin's drone war, according to reports. The same drones struck Kyiv again on Thursday (Aug 28), killing 23 people, including four children. According to reports, while the young ones are not flying drones in Ukraine yet, starting next year, Russian schools will teach drone piloting as part of the regular curriculum. And by ninth grade, they will be made to assemble combat drones used in strikes on Ukrainian cities.

Russia robbing kids of their childhood?

According to a Daily Beast report, while 7-year-olds are not directly involved in Russia's war on Ukraine, in a chilling escalation, they would be trained in school to be future drone pilots. Starting ninth grade, these children are being actively recruited into places like Alabuga Polytechnic College, where unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), aka combat drones used in strikes on Ukrainian cities, are being manufactured.

'Hell for children'

Conditions at Alabuga College, located 600 miles (965.61 km) west of Moscow, are grim. Parents online describe the factory-college as "hell for children," saying students are treated like parts of a machine rather than people. Students report bullying, abuse, and military-style discipline. One teenager, 17-year-old Denis from Sverdlovsk region, died by suicide after struggling through the program. Talking to Daily Beast, one young worker, identified only as Kate, said she was being reprogrammed into Putin's "unbreakable" part of Putin's war machine.

Despite this, many teens keep showing up. The pay is huge by Russian standards — more than $700 a month — and propaganda wraps it all in patriotism. Advertisements promoting the college are another inducement that seems to be working particularly well with older children. In one of the video ads, a female robot with large breasts can be seen whispering to a teen worker seductively, "program me..."

A 13-year-old from Ivanovo told reporters he'd be glad to build drones, arguing “better drones die and not people.”

Children as young as 7 to pilot drones

Putin has lowered the entry point from 10 years, insisting children as young as 7 should learn how to pilot, assemble, and design drones. He pitched it as both “useful” and a way to keep kids busy. “I am convinced that it will make the kids busy with something useful and interesting, distract them from things they should not be doing,” he explained.

Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to face the deadly results. Russia launched 598 drones and 31 ballistic missiles in a single day this week, torching apartments, offices, and cultural centers in Kyiv. Ukrainian journalist Sevgil Musayeva called the strikes “a horrific nightmare,” adding that Putin’s message to the US president Donald Trump and EU was clear: “I don’t respect you.”