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Russia using children to design and test its military drones, investigation finds | Drones (military)

Teenagers who take part in video games tell of being headhunted to work on technology used against Ukraine

Russian authorities have systematically involved children in the design and testing of drones for the country’s war in Ukraine through nationwide competitions that begin with innocent-seeming video games and end up with the most talented students headhunted by defence companies, an investigation has found. The revelations, part of an investigation by the exiled Russian news outlet the Insider, are the latest to show just how much Russia’s leaders are dragging the country’s youth into the war effort in Ukraine, with “patriotic” and militarised education often spilling over into outright participation. The path starts with a video game called Berloga, launched in 2022, in which “intelligent bears” have to defend themselves against swarms of bees, sometimes using drones to repel them, the investigation found.

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