Investigation: Russians recruit teenagers looking for work on the Internet

Russian special services recruit Ukrainian teenagers looking for work on the Internet.

Slidstvo Info investigated this topic.

Most teenagers who fall into the trap of Russian recruiters are those who submit online work search ads.

Russian special services monitor such activity on Ukrainian ad platforms and send them messages offering easy work for good pay.

According to the media, teenagers are easy to manipulate when they are in need of money, especially if some of them come from single-parent and low-income families.

In addition, Slidstvo Info conducted its own investigation, where, pretending to be a teenager, it spoke with a Russian recruiter who started to assure them that nothing bad would happen and that they could earn “real money” instead.

“SSU officers also state that sometimes, curators give tasks to children under the guise of a quest. The journalist received several such offers,” the publication noted.

According to the expert, parents and teachers should be attentive to children and talk to them more often about possible recruitment attempts by the Russian special services.

Recruiter Rusakovych Oleh Mykolayovych used this scheme. Under his instructions, the relay boxes of Ukrzaliznytsia were set on fire. He posted a “job” ad in a group for “Brave Guys.”

At least two men accepted his offer in Telegram and set fire to several relay boxes in the Kyiv region. SSU officers tracked them down and detained them. The men have already been notified of being under suspicion and have been placed in a pre-trial detention center.

Telegram has become a network where Russian special services can recruit without punishment due to the high level of anonymity for both users and special services. At the same time, Rusakovych Oleh Mykolayovych was served with a notice of suspicion in absentia.

Militarnyi previously reported that law enforcement agencies recorded 266 cases of arson attacks on military and volunteer vehicles from the beginning of the year to September 2024.