Ukrainian teen recounts brainwashing to become Moscow's 'poster child'
Russia is not just abducting Ukrainian kids, it is embarking on a campaign of mass indoctrination, as Denys Kostev experienced firsthand.
A Ukrainian teenager, Denys Kostev, recounts how he was brainwashed and recruited into the Russian military after his town was occupied by Russian forces. Dressed in military attire and praising Russian soldiers, Denys appeared as the poster child for Moscow's propaganda machine in various video clips. Now back in Ukraine, he shares his harrowing experience of being systematically indoctrinated and trained to fight against his own country.
Denys, like thousands of Ukrainian children, was taken from his home and placed in a youth camp in Crimea, where he underwent rigorous military training, including handling firearms and learning to shoot from different positions. Russian authorities told him they would send armed men to his home if he protested, emphasizing the lack of rights for children in occupied territories.
By the time he turned 18, Denys was issued a Russian passport and received a conscription letter, prompting him to secretly escape to Kyiv. The Ukrainian teenager's journey highlights the sinister nature of Russia's systematic brainwashing and military recruitment of children, with Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab estimating that hundreds more Ukrainian children are at risk of being abducted and indoctrinated.
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