Occupants have turned social services into a punitive body: children are forced to work

In the occupied territories of Ukraine, Russian occupation administrations use social services as a tool of repression against local children. In Genichesk, the occupiers transformed the 'commission for minors' into a punitive body that forces teenagers from 'problematic families' to go through labor camps under the guise of 'patriotic education' - reports 'Glavkom' referring to the National Resistance Center.

According to the Center's data, the occupying authorities encourage 'involvement of problematic teenagers in volunteer activities and patriotic events', which actually leads to forced labor, such as street cleaning or planting trees. Teenagers are sent to 'labor camps' where they are forced to 'work off' their status as 'underprivileged' under the threat of administrative pressure on their families.

Particularly alarming is the pressure on boys aged 16-17, who are intimidated by being 'registered' at military enlistment offices. Russia uses the social sphere to create a repressive apparatus and transform Ukrainian children into a resource for occupation propaganda. Another example of such activity is the campaign to 'attach' local residents to clinics under Russian insurance policies in the occupied territories of the Kherson region.

International occupiers use social services in the occupied territories of Ukraine to exert pressure on the local population, including teenagers, through forced labor and 'patriotic education'. This indicates the need for community and international attention to the situation in the occupied territories and the impact of occupation authorities on the civilian population.