Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, at least 240 minors have been detained in Russia due to their suspected involvement in acts of terrorism and sabotage, independent outlet Mediazona reported based on its review of criminal cases, court records, and media coverage.
Most of the teenagers were accused of setting fire to railway relay cabinets: trackside electrical boxes that are used to control signaling and train traffic. The count also includes attacks on communication towers, transformers, and military objects including helicopters and aircraft.
Human rights defenders from the NGO Memorial say Russian law enforcement officials are unjustifiably using terrorism charges to get around age limits for criminal liability. According to Mediazona, teenagers convicted in these cases received real prison terms that begin with up to three years in a juvenile correctional colony.
Minors often carried out arson attacks in groups, either with friends or with adults. Memorial said teenagers are especially vulnerable to the “peer effect” — a person’s willingness to take part in a crime rises sharply when friends and older people are also involved.
State investigators have alleged that at least 205 teenagers agreed to carry out arson attacks for money. Anonymous handlers contacted them online and promised payments ranging from 10,000 rubles to 5 million rubles ($125 to $62,000), depending on the target. However, the money was not always paid, and some teenagers received only severe burns for their trouble.
Mediazona’s review suggests many minors did not realize they were targeting sites that authorities associate with the war. In messages, handlers described the tasks as being involved with insurance fraud or disputes with commercial competitors. They also used blackmail to pressure minors into carrying out the assigned tasks.
Russian authorities claim Ukrainian intelligence services are recruiting teenagers. Rights advocates note, however, that since the start of the war, the Federal Security Service (FSB) has actively used entrapment tactics to gather “evidence” in multiple sabotage cases. In March, the FSB branch in the Sverdlovsk Region acknowledged that it had carried out what it called a “social experiment” in order to identify locals who were willing to commit sabotage for money.
