SBU, National Police meet with schoolchildren, students to thwart hostile recruitment

Ukraine’s State Security Service and the National Police continue the nationwide information campaign "Burn the FSB Agent" with meetings with schoolchildren and students directly in schools and colleges.

"The SBU and the National Police continue the campaign with meetings with schoolchildren and students to counteract their recruitment by the Russian special services," the SBU reported in its Telegram channel on Wednesday.

In particular, according to the agency, such a lecture was held for students of Kyiv Lyceum No. 176 named after Miguel de Cervantes. "It is aimed at counteracting the recruitment of young people by Russian special services and preventing arsons, sabotage, and above all, terrorist attacks, in the implementation of which the Russians are increasingly trying to involve minors," the special service noted.

During the lecture, SBU agents and the National Police told students about the methods that Russian special services use for recruitment on social networks and messengers, and provided practical advice on how not to become a tool in the hands of the enemy.

"If, in exchange for the promise of "easy money," a person agrees to carry out the tasks of Russian agents, then three possible scenarios await him, and all of them are negative. The first is death from an explosive device. The second is mutilation, if he is lucky enough to survive after the explosion. The third is prison, because the SBU and the National Police find all criminals," said SBU spokesman Artem Dekhtyarenko during the lecture.

He called on schoolchildren to immediately report any recruitment attempts to law enforcement officers, including through the SBU chatbot "Burn the FSB Agent" https://t.me/Spaly_FSB_bot. It can be used to transfer the phone number or nickname of the person who incited the crime, as well as other details of this proposal. The SBU carefully analyzes all the data received and takes it into account in countering the intelligence and subversive activities of the Russian special services.

In addition, schoolchildren can also report recruitment attempts to juvenile inspectors assigned to a particular school. The contacts of these inspectors are indicated on the flyers that law enforcement representatives distribute during the meeting.

The Ukrainian special service reports that, starting in 2024, the SBU and the National Police have detained more than 600 people who, on behalf of Russian agents, were engaged in arson, sabotage and terrorist acts in Ukraine. Instead of "easy money," the suspects received suspicions from the SBU and the prospect of a long prison sentence.