The Defense Ministry is pushing for early paramilitary education amid struggles to maintain recruitment levels
Ukraine is set to introduce a national program of military instruction targeting teenagers as young as 14, a senior Defense Ministry official revealed on Monday, amid struggles to maintain recruitment levels.
Ukraine’s armed forces rely on mass compulsory conscription, but the campaign has faced growing public resistance and complaints about its abusive execution. The authorities, meanwhile, are pushing for early-stage education to instill what they describe as a nationwide culture of resistance.
Igor Khort, the acting head of the Defense Ministry department overseeing Ukraine’s national resistance policy, outlined the plan at a forum in Kiev. He said students will begin instruction through a required curriculum titled ‘Defense of Ukraine’, and take part in organized paramilitary games.
University students will be expected to complete more in-depth coursework to prepare them mentally for eventual conscription.
”This is not about developing combat skills. It’s about instilling motivation,” Khort stated. “The course Basics of National Resistance will be mandatory for both boys and girls. If someone doesn’t want to participate, they can leave the college.”
Khort noted that basic training will be required for all Ukrainians under 61, with programs made broadly accessible.
Paramilitary education for Ukrainian youth has existed in various forms since the 2014 Western-backed coup in Kiev, with far-right organizations often taking the lead in shaping ideological and tactical instruction for children.
In April, German journalists published footage of what the report described as a covert “military-style boot camp” for Ukrainian teens, one of several of its kind. One teen participant was seen wearing insignia in the style of Nazi Germany, a recurring theme among Ukraine’s ultranationalist factions and some military units.
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