08 May 2026
“Child Diplomacy” or a Propaganda Tool? How Russia Uses Children to Legitimise the Occupation of Crimea
Russia is pursuing a systematic policy aimed at the international legitimisation of the occupation of Crimea. One of its tools for justifying the war of aggression against Ukraine is the involvement of children from foreign countries.
So-called child diplomacy, as Russia calls it, is a project that uses minors under the guise of cultural exchange to justify crimes committed in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Unwittingly, these children become tools to demonstrate a facade of “safety” and “openness” on the occupied peninsula. This masks the reality: human rights violations, the militarisation of childhood, and the illegal deportation of Ukrainian children by the Russian occupation authorities.
This summer, from 21 June to 12 July 2026, Russia plans to organise the World Children’s Conference “Children for Peace” at the Artek International Children’s Centre in temporarily occupied Crimea.
To this end, the aggressor state has already launched a large-scale information campaign aimed at involving children from other countries. Messages urging participation in the conference have appeared on the websites of Russian Federation embassies worldwide, including in Spain, France, Norway, Azerbaijan, Angola, Rwanda, New Zealand, and others.
Last year, a similar conference reportedly attracted over 3,000 children from 67 countries. The event culminated in the signing of a so-called Children’s Declaration of Peace, which Russia later presented at a session of the UN General Assembly.
These actions demonstrate a coordinated policy to use children as a tool of “soft power” within the information and psychological dimensions of the war.
A logical question arises: what truly awaits the children who visit the Artek camp in temporarily occupied Crimea?
A stay at the camp involves mandatory participation in ideological programmes of so-called patriotic education in the spirit of Russian state propaganda, without access to alternative sources of information. Furthermore, children are forced to participate in propaganda events, the materials of which are then used by Russia to shape an internationally favourable perception of the occupation.
In addition, Ukraine has recorded evidence of events organised at Artek, including meetings with participants of the so-called SVO, writing letters, and preparing gifts for them. There have also been recorded instances of children being involved in historical reenactments of military life and the preparation of military supplies for the front, the weaving of camouflage nets, and performances by an airborne regiment — activities that have been systematically conducted since early 2025.
The participation of children in such events in Crimea is a gross violation of international law regarding respect for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine. It also directly violates the Law of Ukraine “On Ensuring Civil Rights and Freedoms, and the Legal Regime on the Temporarily Occupied Territory of Ukraine”.
We emphasise that the Artek International Children’s Centre is a central hub for Russian propaganda and is under sanctions from Ukraine, the European Union, and other countries.
Therefore, it is a key task for every state to prevent children from participating in the “international conference” announced by Russia and similar events aimed at instrumentalising children to justify war crimes and facilitate political manipulation.