{
  "id": 19719993,
  "title": "Russian authorities seek to expand military training for children, hiring war veterans as instructors",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/12/russian-authorities-seek-to-expand-military-training-for-children",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-12T22:36:33.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Insider",
    "slug": "the-insider",
    "url": "https://theins.press/en/news/299526"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Russian authorities are planning to broaden military training for schoolchildren, with plans to employ war veterans as instructors. In 2026, the Ministry of Education will separate military training into a standalone course, adding it to the national guidelines for military training camps targeted at eighth graders. These camps, held at specialized centers and military bases, include drill and firearms training, weapon operation lessons, tactical medicine, and drone operation. Military veterans are being hired to serve as instructors for these camps, with the state budgeting millions of dollars for the program. The 2026 federal budget has allocated 3.72 billion rubles for the Voin military-sports training center and 1.05 billion rubles for activities related to the Yunarmiya (Young Army) movement. Military training for students was already in place before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, with training camps for high school students established in 2010. Since then, the program has been expanded, including the creation of the Voin center in 2022 and introducing the Military Affairs course for eighth graders in Sakhalin in 2022. By 2025, the curriculum for compulsory school courses has been revised to include elements of basic military training, and guidelines have been issued for organizing military camps for students in grades 8 and 9. The latest provisions outline efforts to develop a network of specialized centers and extend hands-on training to younger age groups.",
  "summary": "Russia is expanding its system of military training for schoolchildren. In 2026, the Ministry of Education made basic military training a separate course and issued national guidelines on military training camps for eighth graders. Under these guidelines, children are sent to specialized centers and military bases, where they undergo drill and firearms training, learn how weapons work, and master…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}