Since then, the conflict has taken a troubling turn. Russian operatives are currently recruiting young Ukrainians to conduct sabotage operations inside Ukraine. Now they are using social media to lure people in with the siren song of cash. Yet, at the same time, they use hazing and intimidation methods to gain adherence. This dangerous strategy raises new alarms about how far Russia is willing to go to destabilize Ukraine.
The recruitment often focuses on unemployed addicts, as about a quarter are teens. It’s scary out there. After failing to take over Odesa, fellow 11-year-old child soldier from Odesa region becomes youngest documented recruit. Start fast and easy Russian curators frequently ease new recruits into things by having them do low-level tasks, like collecting devices meant for bombing runs. These devices can be detonated remotely, letting the orchestrators stay far away from the havoc they create.
Oleh, a 19-year-old recruit, tells us what it was like to be targeted and recruited. Then, one day, someone messaged him on Telegram. They had paid him $50 to pick up a phone and drop it off at a military recruitment station. The payment was framed around the use of a crypto wallet, highlighting the anonymity that digital transactions can afford.
“He said all we have to do is pick up a rucksack there with some paint in it,” – Oleh.
Oleh’s phone instructions were from a Russian curator, Alexander. He was instructed not to unzip the bags, and to proceed to his next stop, which was given to him through Telegram. To Ukrainian security services, people like Alexander are deeply suspicious characters. They suspect him, along with Gubarev, to be the driving force behind Russian intelligence’s covert influence operations.
Curiously, Russian recruiters almost never disclose their identities. They instead frequently fake disillusioned Ukrainians “weary of conflict.” This tactic is intended to win trust and elicit more relaxed defenses among prospects. If a recruit wavers or has second thoughts, curators will reveal their Russian ties. They can then use extortion or blackmail to compel the recruit to act.
“Sometimes they use threats, sometimes they are friendly and encouraging. It depends on who is curating the agent; they use different psychological manipulations on different people,” – Dekhtiarenko.
From the eastern region of Lviv oblast, the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) announced several such incidents. In each of these incidents, recruits performed duties that resulted in injury or fatality. So far this year there have been more than a dozen such attacks on these exploited humans. Often, the recruits do not even realize that they themselves will become suicide bombers. Russians have a long history of blowing up their own agents, which is apparently increasing in frequency.
“In some cases, the agents don’t only plant the bomb, but unconsciously perform the role of a suicide bomber,” – Dekhtiarenko.
The motivations behind these operations are multifaceted. Unfortunately, for many of those recruits, like Oleh, the story takes a dangerous turn. He described his prior existence as stagnant:
“I sat at home and mostly did nothing,” – Oleh.
The temptation of fast cash is hard to resist for someone desperate.
Even as such tactics develop, there are troubling questions about the bigger picture effects—not just on Ukraine, but for security worldwide. A Ukrainian law enforcement source remarked on the nature of this conflict:
“Ukraine is the testing ground for Russian conventional and hybrid warfare. Look at cyber-attacks, look at arson attacks, look at the sabotage on railways. They test things here, and then they do it in western countries.”
The recruitment of young Ukrainians serves as a chilling reminder of how vulnerable populations can be exploited in times of war. With every new recruit, Russia intensifies its illicit campaign to subvert Ukraine. This dangerous increase using commercial arms puts innocent lives at risk.