In a stark new twist in modern warfare, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) is warning teenagers that their smartphones have become a battlefield. During high school sessions held across the country, masked intelligence officers present grim evidence of Russian recruitment of Ukrainian youth through apps like Telegram and TikTok.

One such session in Lviv showcased the case of a teenager unknowingly turned into a suicide bomber by Russian handlers. "Criminal responsibility in Ukraine begins at 14," one officer warned, urging students to avoid falling into online traps offering “easy money.”

FSB Allegedly Targets Youth With Cash, Blackmail

According to the SBU, Russia’s FSB has increasingly targeted minors by offering payments in exchange for surveillance, arson, or sabotage. Tasks as simple as photographing infrastructure or spray-painting graffiti are often the entry point. From there, some teens are blackmailed into performing increasingly dangerous missions.

Ukrainian authorities report over 600 arrests for sabotage-related offenses—25% of them minors. Some children were as young as 13.

Tragic Consequences Fuel Awareness Drive

A chilling case in March involved two teens in Ivano-Frankivsk, recruited with promises of $1,700. They built bombs under Russian instruction. One detonated prematurely, killing the 17-year-old and leaving the 15-year-old amputated. Another case in May involved teens placing an explosive device in an abandoned building, which police triggered but narrowly avoided casualties.

Roksolana Yavorska-Isaienko, an SBU spokesperson in Lviv, compared the tactic to how youth were once used as suicide bombers in Afghanistan and Pakistan. “They are working directly inside your phones,” she said.

Teens Respond: “Can We Help the SBU?”

During these classes, students asked how to help. The SBU has launched a new chatbot, “Expose the FSB Agent,” for anonymous reporting of suspicious messages or tasks.

SBU officials emphasized critical thinking. “No one in real life will suddenly offer you $1,000 or $2,000 just like that,” said Yavorska-Isaienko. “The only free cheese is in the mousetrap.”