Espreso turned to lawyer and expert at the regional human rights centre Zmina, Kateryna Rashevska, to find out whether international institutions can influence the situation and hold Russia accountable.Russia is building a future army from Ukrainian childrenUkrainian human rights defenders have also tallied the facilities in the Russian Federation that house Ukrainian children.“We conducted our own research focused specifically on camps, and our figure was 164 institutions, with that number rising by 70% in 2025. In other words, many new camps have opened. At the same time, the program for stays in those camps has been standardized. Yale’s Humanitarian Lab presented a summary of its report, claiming that the number of institutions that have held or continue to hold Ukrainian children reaches 210. We, however, speak only about camps; they include eight types of institutions, including religious ones,” Rashevska says, noting that the number of such facilities keeps growing.Last December, Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin signed a decree that institutionalizes “brainwashing” and the militarization of minors in every camp — starting from age eight — what Russians call “patriotic military education.”Rights groups say that when all figures are combined two conclusions follow: Russia is accelerating brainwashing to turn Ukrainian children into enemies of their own nation as fast as possible. Human rights defenders say these actions can be interpreted as genocide, although the question is complex.“Strictly from the legal definition of the crime of genocide — actions committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national group as such — the forcible transfer of children from one group to another fits that definition. Terminologically, we can assert that by depriving us of part of the next generation, the Russians want to deprive Ukraine of its existence. In other words, they aim to eradicate our statehood and subordinate Ukrainian children to themselves. This is not only my opinion; it is the view of the European Court of Human Rights, recorded in its July 9, 2025 decision.“But right now we can say a lot about genocide and about punishing everyone, yet I do not want to raise unrealistic expectations. Today I do not see full readiness, even among Ukraine’s closest partners, to speak about a legal, not political, qualification of such actions as genocide,” the lawyer says.“Proving genocide is difficult; we must seek alternative paths”Rashevska emphasizes another nuance — the Rome Statute does not contain a specific crime called the militarization of minors.“You will not find it there. Propaganda of the armed forces of the occupying state is not classified as a war crime in the Statute, although it violates the Geneva Conventions. Therefore we must be extremely creative and flexible to try to reach another legal qualification,” Rashevska says.She adds that she has several ideas on how to influence the situation, but everyone must understand the root cause.“First — why do the Russians need such a large number of people who already know how to use weapons and fight before they turn 18? This practical capability is recorded not only in the speeches of Russian propagandists but also in the statutes of the ‘Yunarmiya’ and similar formations. The answer to ‘why?’ is obvious. This is the initiation of a new cycle of aggression in the future. The Russian budget also shows huge military expenditure through 2030 and the militarization of children. Essentially, this means the Russians plan to wage war for years, for generations. But the world and Europe somehow assume or hope that the Russians will fight only here, in Ukraine. I am no longer so sure. Drones fly into Poland and Romania — possibly even the Baltic states, though this is not confirmed. Where these re-educated children will be deployed is also a question we do not know the answer to,” the rights defender explains.Pressure on parents and involvement of religious organizationsIt is now known that Russia has abducted 1.6 million children. These are mostly children who lived under occupation, came under Russian control and were forcibly moved. Among them are over 19,000 children currently identified as kidnapped or deported. This group includes orphans, children deprived of parental care, and children who do have parents.“We repeatedly documented coercion. Parents were told their children were being taken to a summer camp, but instead they were taught to fight. This summer a child taken under such a scenario and subjected to militarization was returned to Ukraine.”Parents often find themselves powerless against a totalitarian system. They cannot refuse the camps because authorities present them as free health-improving programs; if parents refuse, the state threatens to strip them of parental rights.Human rights groups also document the involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the Belarusian Orthodox Church — effectively a branch of the ROC in Belarus — in the militarization of children.“The Belarusian church was one of the first organizations that effectively facilitated the removal of children from occupied Donetsk and Luhansk to Belarusian territory. This happened as early as 2016. According to their own data, some children never returned. In Crimea, we recorded episodes where children were forced to confess. Mass confessions at a camp aimed to extract information — in plain terms, to make children testify against their own parents,” Rashevska recalls.Read also: Hungry, without mattresses, but in Russian military uniform: Bring Kids Back UA director Dariia Zarivna on the abduction of Ukrainian childrenPunishment of the occupying country at the International Criminal CourtTo correct the situation, the human rights defender Kateryna Rashevska is convinced that Ukraine must demand punishment of the occupying country at the International Criminal Court for Russia’s militarization of Ukrainian children.“I do not want our state to be constantly begging: ‘impose sanctions’, ‘criminalize this’, etc. I would like the state to take on the role of leader.“First, we need to push for adaptation of international law norms to the violations and crimes Russia commits. That will allow us to punish militarization not only at the national level but also through the ICC. Recall that Ukraine can now submit relevant proposals for discussion in international institutions. We must strive to have militarization and political indoctrination qualify, for example, as: a crime against humanity (an inhuman act); as an act threatening forced mobilization — a war crime; or as cruel treatment of a child, which could be both a war crime and a crime against humanity,” Rashevska added.Human rights groups say Russians must see a clear prospect not only of sanctions but also of criminal liability — at least for those who developed and implement this policy.“We must bear in mind that no one knows exactly where these children will be used, and there are already signs of planning for a new wave of aggression by Russia. Planning aggression is itself an element of an international crime; a special tribunal can and should address this,” they say.