The Security Service of Ukraine reported new facts about the preparation of teenagers in temporarily occupied Crimea for participation in hostilities against Ukraine. According to the investigation, this activity is coordinated by Russian officials with the help of controlled organizations.
This is reported by Finway
Preparation of youth for war under the guidance of Russian special services
As part of the investigation, the SBU documented the crimes of Oleksandr D’yachenko — the head of the occupying “Union of Border Guards of Crimea” and the “Varyag Maritime Training Center,” which operate in Simferopol. Although these structures are formally presented as public organizations, their activities are coordinated by Russian special services with the aim of preparing local youth for service in armed groups of the Russian Federation.
As the SBU found out, one of the main areas of work is military-sports training of boys for further involvement in the special forces of the Russian Navy. At the training bases of “Varyag,” schoolchildren are taught diving, underwater orientation, and methods of conducting sabotage in maritime areas.
“Among the priority areas is military-combat training of boys for further recruitment into the special forces of the Russian Navy. For this purpose, at the training bases of ‘Varyag,’ schoolchildren are taught diving, underwater orientation, and the peculiarities of conducting sabotage in maritime areas,” the message states.
Funding from Russia and involvement of military intelligence
The investigation established that D’yachenko’s organizations regularly receive funding from the Russian budget in the form of “presidential grants” from Putin. At the beginning of 2023, these structures received almost 4.5 million rubles from Moscow. In addition, the occupying administration provided them with land near Simferopol for the creation of a new military training complex. It is expected that at least 150 schoolchildren will undergo training there simultaneously, for whom firing ranges, obstacle courses, and special zones for diving training have been arranged.
Career officers of the Russian military intelligence (GRU) are involved in the training as instructors. At the same time, in the club’s premises, the organizers impose ideas of Russian nationalism on the schoolchildren and justify the full-scale aggression against Ukraine.
After completing the training, children are issued “graduation certificates,” which give them advantages when applying to higher military educational institutions in Russia.
The SBU also reported suspicions against two subordinates of D’yachenko — Daria Gorokhova and Volodymyr Graf. All three are accused of justifying Russian aggression and involvement in war crimes.
As of the end of April 2026, Oleksandr D’yachenko is under sanctions from Ukraine for participating in the abduction of children from occupied territories.
According to Andriy Chernyak, a representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Russia has turned Crimea into a military foothold, where children are taught militaristic ideology from an early age:
“From kindergarten, children are taught that Russia is primarily its army.”