Russia brings children from Moldova’s Transnistria to occupied Crimea for “patriotic education”

Beyond the ceremonies, 127 children enrolled in two military schools for 2026–2027, Promo-LEX, a Moldovan rights group, said.

Promo-LEX says Transnistria’s military schools prepare children for service in the separatist administration’s security forces and paramilitary units. At the same time, Russian “patriotic education” programs expose them to indoctrination and security risks. Those programs connect Transnistria’s school system to Russia’s wider militarization and re-education of children in occupied Ukraine.

Beyond the classroom, dozens of Transnistrian children attended “patriotic education” programs in Russia and occupied Crimea this summer, the Association for the Reintegration of Crimea (ARC) said, citing Promo-LEX.

ARC said one group attended events at Artek, a Russian-run children’s camp, in June 2026. From 23 June to 13 July, another group participated in the “Circle of Friends” program at Russia’s Orlyonok children’s center.

The Artek camp is under EU, UK, and US sanctions over its role in deporting and re-educating Ukrainian children. Promo-LEX has documented Transnistrian children attending Artek-run camps for nearly a decade.

Transnistria is internationally recognized as part of Moldova but has remained under Russia-backed separatist control since a war in 1992, with Russian troops still stationed there.

A Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) video showed students raising Transnistria’s flag and singing its anthem at the start of the school week. Tiraspol authorities described the ceremonies as promoting patriotism and discipline.

Of the 127 children who enrolled in the two military schools (up from 120 the previous year), 65 entered the Tiraspol Suvorov Military School, and 62 entered a cadet school in Bender, according to Promo-LEX. About half of this year’s new students in Bender are girls.

Students from the age of 11 wear camouflage, live under a barracks regime, and receive training in handling weapons and drones, Promo-LEX says. The intake includes children from vulnerable families and boarding schools. The group has also warned that graduates may face pressure to sign contracts with Tiraspol’s paramilitary structures.

How Russia militarizes children in occupied Ukraine

Russia uses the same education-to-service pipeline across occupied Ukraine. More than 582,000 children at nearly 2,000 occupation schools study under an imposed Russian curriculum, while schools are adding military-training tracks and ideology classes, according to the Almenda Center.

In December 2025, UN monitors documented Russia imposing weekly “patriotic” lessons in occupied Ukraine on children as young as three and putting older children through combat training—including instructions on how to handle drones.

At “Zarnitsa 2.0,” a Russian military-training competition for children held in May 2026, a Kremlin-backed youth movement taught children to handle weapons and explosives and operate drones, Ukraine's military intelligence said.

Earlier, 24 teenagers from occupied Kherson Oblast received drone, combat, and cyber training at Russia's Avangard camp, according to Ukraine's Center for National Resistance.