The Belarusian regime is militarizing children through state programmes in cooperation with Russia, according to TVP World. A new report by Belarusian democratic opposition notes that the authorities are using childhood to cultivate a military culture.
Currently, over 2,000 military classes and camps operate across Belarus, where children are trained in drill exercises and weapons handling. Opposition figure Pavel Latushko stated that promoting a military culture may lead children to perceive others as enemies.
The report also claims that Minsk is cooperating with Moscow in the forced relocation and ideological “re-education” of more than 2,000 Ukrainian children from occupied territories. These actions are seen as systemic militarization and the use of minors for political and military purposes.
On June 24, 2025, PACE adopted Resolution 2605, “Legal and Human Rights Aspects of the Russian Federation’s Aggression Against Ukraine.” It states that Russia’s war against Ukraine constitutes an act of aggression violating Article 2(4) of the UN Charter and includes acts that meet the definition of elements of genocide under the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. Ideological justifications for the aggression from Russian officials indicate genocidal intent—to destroy the Ukrainian nation as such.
The Assembly repeatedly condemned the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus, as well as the forced transfer of children to temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. These actions violate international humanitarian law (Fourth Geneva Convention and Additional Protocol I), the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, and constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and elements of genocide. PACE also expressed deep concern about Russia’s policy of ethnic cleansing in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine through forced transfers, deportations, and harsh assimilation.
