A 16-year-old boy riding a bus in southern Ukraine looked like any other teenager, scrolling through his phone — but according to Ukraine’s security service (SBU), he was secretly feeding military coordinates and photos to Russian intelligence. He was arrested on the spot while photographing a military site in Dnipro, the Financial Times reported.

The case, revealed this week by Ukrainian authorities, underscores what officials describe as a growing and deeply concerning campaign by Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) to recruit Ukrainian children for espionage, sabotage and even deadly attacks — often through encrypted messaging apps like Telegram. The young detainee now faces charges of high treason and a possible life sentence.

Russian operatives exploiting children for sabotage

Ukraine’s intelligence services say this is no isolated case. According to SBU spokesperson Artem Dekhtiarenko, over 700 individuals have been arrested since early 2023 for spying, sabotage, and arson linked to Russian handlers. Alarmingly, about 25 percent of them were minors.