Children of iron: trip to the camps where they militarize the children of Ukraine

Children of iron: trip to the camps where they militarize the children of Ukraine
For four years, thousands of children have received military training - without educational criteria - in ultra-nationalist camps. A time bomb for the future of the country
Victoria is eight years old and, like many girls her age, would like to be a fashion designer or model when she grows up. But among your dreams is also being a soldier. He has not seen the war closely but at his young age he is convinced that his duty is to defend the homeland. His determination scares: " There is only one Ukraine and we have to defend it . That's why I came here, to learn to fight. I really like to shoot with a gun. Put on camouflage makeup and military clothes. "
Victoria spends part of her school holidays in the "Leader" camp, located in old Soviet sports facilities, just outside Kiev. It does not have an official website, but it is advertised on Facebook or it gets 'recruits' by word of mouth. With a capacity for between 180 and 200 children, aged between 7 and 16 years , the stay for each group is 20 days in a row, during the three months of summer. The complete stay does not come cheap: the day costs 18 dollars.
Instructors - dressed in military clothing - combine sports activities with Spartan military training . Swimming, basketball, athletics, physical resistance exercises such as crawling on the ground, jumping obstacles or climbing a rope ... practice shooting with air rifles, arming and disarming an AK-47 ... are some of the activities offered by the "Leader", always to the rhythm of ultranationalist anthems and of hardcore music and Ukrainian punk.
"Ukraine is above everything! Heroes do not die, enemies die! The 'Leader' opens the way! United Ukraine! Victory or Death! "Chant the young patriots as they march at a military pace.
"It's like being on a real front"
As in any summer colony, children perform a theatrical performance in the auditorium for the day of parent visits. On the stage they sing nationalist songs, while red and black flags of the extreme right are waving . At night, there are evening evenings that have little to do with those of a conventional camp: torches lit and children dressed in combat uniform, faces covered with balaclavas , arm raised and fist open.
Ivor Jomansky is proud that his 11-year-old son Mathew prefers to learn to fight instead of wasting time playing with the Playstation. "I think it's very useful for children who start thinking not only about toys and computers but about how to defend their country, just in case, " he says.
"I totally agree with my father," replies the little one. "Here we are taught military tactics, how to disperse with air rifles to cans that are at the same height and distance that our enemies would be when they are about 80-100 meters away. of you. The compressed air guns have the same range as the Kalashnikovs. It's like being on a real front, "explains Mathew. The child is very motivated in the shooting class. Show your skill with the rifle and hit the 'target'.
Ivan Granatkin, director of this summer school, is a hero of the 'Euromaidan' revolution . This 38-year-old paramedic was at the forefront of demonstrations against pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Granatkin survived the massacre on February 23, 2014, when police charged the demonstrators with live fire and nearly a hundred people were killed . In the camp "Leader" they have erected a monument to pay homage to the "battalion of Heaven", to the comrades who gave their lives for a change of regime in Kiev.
Granatkin has his head shaved with a braid and is tattooed from top to bottom. He assures that they are not fascists, but simply patriots . "We are giving these young people a patriotic education in the context of the ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine. It is very important to raise a child so that he is a patriot and can defend his country if necessary, "El Confidencial points out.
Basic military skills are taught in the school curriculum, Granatkin continues, pointing out that during school vacations "it is worth reminding these young people that there are people fighting at the front, fighting and dying every day , to ensure that they have a quiet life. " "As citizens of Ukraine, we must all be ready to defend our country," adds the director of the "Leader".
Although it is hardly mentioned in the mainstream media, the country is experiencing a slow return to the armed conflict that fills hospitals with victims, both in the eastern and western regions.
The deputy director, Oleksiv Zabolotny, 56, has a sinister appearance. Paradoxically, this high school English teacher worked as an interpreter of the Russian army to spy on the Americans. Now he instructs the minors in combat techniques to fight against the pro-Russian separatists . "We believe that our children must be prepared to face the aggressor and, with a neighbor like Russia , I am absolutely convinced that sooner or later we will have to face it . Therefore, it is our obligation to make these children ready for this confrontation, "says Zabolotny, who hopes that the new generations will become universal soldiers. With this philosophy, thousands of Ukrainian children receive military training - without educational criteria or learning standards - every summer, for four years, in this type of ultranationalist camps. Where does the money come from? Ruslan Bormovoy, aka "Tair", decided to found his own Ranger school for minors, two years ago. During the holidays, this elite soldier trains children and young people from 11 to 17 years old, inside a facility of the Ukrainian special forces in Volodymyr-Volynskiy, along the border with Poland. Although Tair does not explain where he receives the funds, his training with American instructors gives him away . Unlike the "Leader", the "Ranger" only offers stays of seven days, at 60 dollars a week, and for a small group of 20 students. Tair trains these minors as if they were military professionals. Children play real war: they learn military tactics on the ground, with real trenches, ambushing the enemy, dragging 20 kilos on their backs or rescuing the wounded while attacking their battalion. " Many of these children will be future soldiers . Here we show you the other side of military training , following international standards. For this, I use my own experience. I have received US, Polish, French and Canadian military training. This allows me to understand what these children need for themselves and for Ukraine. No one will defend us unless we do it ourselves, "says the tutor of the small Rangers.
"It's like being on a real front"
As in any summer colony, children perform a theatrical performance in the auditorium for the day of parent visits. On the stage they sing nationalist songs, while red and black flags of the extreme right are waving . At night, there are evening evenings that have little to do with those of a conventional camp: torches lit and children dressed in combat uniform, faces covered with balaclavas , arm raised and fist open.
Ivor Jomansky is proud that his 11-year-old son Mathew prefers to learn to fight instead of wasting time playing with the Playstation. "I think it's very useful for children who start thinking not only about toys and computers but about how to defend their country, just in case, " he says.
"I totally agree with my father," replies the little one. "Here we are taught military tactics, how to disperse with air rifles to cans that are at the same height and distance that our enemies would be when they are about 80-100 meters away. of you. The compressed air guns have the same range as the Kalashnikovs. It's like being on a real front, "explains Mathew. The child is very motivated in the shooting class. Show your skill with the rifle and hit the 'target'.
Young cadets during a ceremony at the Pechersk Lavra monastery in Kiev.  
Ivan Granatkin, director of this summer school, is a hero of the 'Euromaidan' revolution . This 38-year-old paramedic was at the forefront of demonstrations against pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych. Granatkin survived the massacre on February 23, 2014, when police charged the demonstrators with live fire and nearly a hundred people were killed . In the camp "Leader" they have erected a monument to pay homage to the "battalion of Heaven", to the comrades who gave their lives for a change of regime in Kiev.
Granatkin has his head shaved with a braid and is tattooed from top to bottom. He assures that they are not fascists, but simply patriots . "We are giving these young people a patriotic education in the context of the ongoing war in Eastern Ukraine. It is very important to raise a child so that he is a patriot and can defend his country if necessary, "El Confidencial points out.
Basic military skills are taught in the school curriculum, Granatkin continues, pointing out that during school vacations "it is worth reminding these young people that there are people fighting at the front, fighting and dying every day , to ensure that they have a quiet life. " "As citizens of Ukraine, we must all be ready to defend our country," adds the director of the "Leader".
The discreet return to war in Ukraine: "People are dying for nothing"
TERESA SUÁREZ. LVIV (UKRAINE)
Although it is hardly mentioned in the mainstream media, the country is experiencing a slow return to the armed conflict that fills hospitals with victims, both in the eastern and western regions.
The deputy director, Oleksiv Zabolotny, 56, has a sinister appearance. Paradoxically, this high school English teacher worked as an interpreter of the Russian army to spy on the Americans. Now he instructs the minors in combat techniques to fight against the pro-Russian separatists . "We believe that our children must be prepared to face the aggressor and, with a neighbor like Russia , I am absolutely convinced that sooner or later we will have to face it . Therefore, it is our obligation to make these children ready for this confrontation, "says Zabolotny, who hopes that the new generations will become universal soldiers.

With this philosophy, thousands of Ukrainian children receive military training - without educational criteria or learning standards - every summer, for four years, in this type of ultranationalist camps.
Where does the money come from?
Ruslan Bormovoy, aka "Tair", decided to found his own Ranger school for minors, two years ago. During the holidays, this elite soldier trains children and young people from 11 to 17 years old, inside a facility of the Ukrainian special forces in Volodymyr-Volynskiy, along the border with Poland. Although Tair does not explain where he receives the funds, his training with American instructors gives him away . Unlike the "Leader", the "Ranger" only offers stays of seven days, at 60 dollars a week, and for a small group of 20 students. Tair trains these minors as if they were military professionals.
Children play real war: they learn military tactics on the ground, with real trenches, ambushing the enemy, dragging 20 kilos on their backs or rescuing the wounded while attacking their battalion.
" Many of these children will be future soldiers . Here we show you the other side of military training , following international standards. For this, I use my own experience. I have received US, Polish, French and Canadian military training. This allows me to understand what these children need for themselves and for Ukraine. No one will defend us unless we do it ourselves, "says the tutor of the small Rangers. A fighter from the Donetsk Prussian militia shows an assault rifle to some children during an educational day for minors in Donetsk. (Reuters)A fighter from the Donetsk Prussian militia shows an assault rifle to some children during an educational day for minors in Donetsk. (Reuters) Danylo Satsuk, aka "the Angel of Death", trains with dedication to become a fighter like his uncle, who joined one of the far-right volunteer militias fighting against the pro-Russian separatists of Eastern Ukraine . "This camp will prepare us to be soldiers. We have military exercises, our own rifles. The instructors prepare us for the future, "says this 12-year-old boy. "My uncle told me about the war. It scares and there is a lot of pain . The soldiers are in the trenches. There are many shots and people die violently, "describes Danylo. "We are not like the fascists on the other side" The conflict that Ukraine has been experiencing for the last five years has revitalized the patriarchal teaching of the military in two parts of the country: the pro-Ukrainian and the pro-Russian Ukraine. In the self-proclaimed People's Republics of Donbas and Lugansk the patriotic spirit of the young is also nourished, but with Communist propaganda . In the headquarters of Donbas special forces, the new generations are preparing to defend "the communist homeland". Instructors teach children how to cut the jugular with a knife or stick it in the artery so the enemy can bleed The military high command insist that " they are not like the fascists on the other side , we do not teach the children to fight. We have to defend ourselves because they are not attacking, "said Colonel Roman, commander of the Vytyaz squadron of Donbas special forces. "It is important to teach children to love their homeland. Patriotism will teach them not to repeat our mistakes, so that their children do not experience the atrocities of war. We do not attack anyone, we are defending ourselves . We are defending our children and our home, "declares Commander Roman. His speech does not convince the journalist. In the gymnastics pavilion of the special forces, the new generations show their skill in combat techniques, and in the handling of the knife. The instructors teach the children how to cut the jugular with a knife or stick it in the artery so the enemy can bleed. "Nobody cuts his throat like that. Is not correct. You should stab here and the same on this side. First you stab with the knife here, "corrects the instructor to a student who is practicing with another partner. After five years, the war has not yet come to an end. Although the conflict is resolved, the danger lies in the new generations have grown learning to hate the other side. The children's indoctrination of children is a time bomb for the future of Ukraine