Russia is forcing children abducted from Ukraine to fight against their own country when they turn 18 - The Times.

Ukrainian government officials told the media that it is not known how many have been conscripted, but by some estimates, there are thousands.

According to them, this practice serves two purposes: it presents a solution to Russia's military manpower crisis, as well as a brutal new form of psychological warfare against the Ukrainian people, allegedly the result of Putin's personal orders.

Andrii Yermak, President Zelenskyy's chief of staff, told The General and The Journalist podcast that the Ukrainian government has obtained hard evidence of the practice, such as conscription documents.

"The Russians want to destroy the new generation of the Ukrainians, and they are building new soldiers against the country where they were born. It is terrible," he said.

Nathaniel Raymond, the executive director of Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab, which investigates specific allegations concerning former children forced into combat, said that older kids "are being put into cadet schools, given combat weapons training and combat vehicle training."

"Why would they be put into this training pipeline? There can be only one good reason for it, and it's not for parades," he said.
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