Ukrainian teens are being recruited by Russians online to betray their country

NewsWorldEuropeUkrainian teens are being recruited by Russians online to betray their countrySince Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine, more than 1,100 Ukrainians have been accused of committing arson, terrorism or sabotage in betrayal of their countryMari Saito Tuesday 28 April 2026 09:22 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"b2966219","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-teen-spies-russia-chernihiv-b2966219.html","title":"Ukrainian teens are being recruited by Russians online to betray their country"}}open image in gallery{"id":"trigger-autogallery-8843","index":0}Vitalii's aunt Alona greets him at the gates after he was released on bail from pre-trial detention in Chernihiv, Ukraine November 26, 2025 (Reuters)On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly dispatch from our international correspondentsGet a weekly international news dispatchEmail*SIGN UPI would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice{"className":"sc-1ge0fwe-0","newsletterData":{"regSourceNewsletter":"IND_On_The_Ground_Newsletter","regTitle":"On The Ground","subscriptionGroup":"on_the_ground","subscriptionGroupId":"14806361-6435-4d19-b06e-05326605fb01","pathPrefix":["/news/world/europe","/news/world/middle-east","/news/world/australasia","/news/world/africa","/asia"],"associatedAuthors":["Bel Trew","Sam Kiley"],"title":"On The Ground newsletter: Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","mobileTitle":"Get a weekly international news dispatch","lengthenedMobileTitle":"Get a weekly dispatch from our international correspondents","imageSrc":"https://static.independent.co.uk/static-assets/images/...