Blog

MOSCOW (AP) — The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center says there is no longer a danger of tsunami waves on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula after five powerful quakes — the largest with a magnitude of 7.4 — struck in the sea nearby on Sunday.

The largest quake was at a depth of 20 kilometers (12 miles) and was 144 kilometers (89 miles) east of the city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, which has a population of 180,000, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Smaller — but still substantial — quakes were recorded before and after.

The PTWC initially said there was a danger of major tsunami waves but later downgraded its warning before finally saying the danger had passed.

Russia’s Emergencies Ministry also issued a tsunami warning following the largest quake, urging residents of coastal settlements to stay away from the shore.

There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage, and the ministry said it had no immediate plans to evacuate residents.

On Nov. 4, 1952, a magnitude 9.0 quake in Kamchatka caused damage but no reported deaths despite setting off 9.1-meter (30-foot) waves in Hawaii.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump welcomed Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Tuesday at the White House, as the two countries are seeking closer security and economic ties in the face of shifting geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region.

Marcos, who met Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday, is the first Southeast Asian leader to hold talks with Trump in his second term.

As the two leaders sat in the Oval Office in front of reporters on Tuesday, Trump said they would be talking about “war and peace” and trade.

“We’re very close to finishing a trade deal, big trade deal, actually,” Trump said.

Marcos spoke warmly of the relationship between their two nations and said, “This has evolved into as important a relationship as is possible to have.”

When asked by a reporter how he plans to balance his country’s relationships between the U.S. and China, Marcos said there was no need to balance “because our foreign policy is an independent one.”

“Our strongest partner has always been the United States,” he said.

Marcos’ three-day visit shows the importance of the alliance between the treaty partners at a time when China is increasingly assertive in the South China Sea, where Manila and Beijing have clashed over the hotly contested Scarborough Shoal.

Washington sees Beijing, the world’s No. 2 economy, as its biggest competitor, and consecutive presidential administrations have sought to shift U.S. military and economic focus to the Asia-Pacific in a bid to counter China. Trump, like others before him, has been distracted by efforts to broker peace in a range of conflicts, from Ukraine to Gaza.

Tariffs also are expected to be on the agenda. Trump has threatened to impose 20% tariffs on Filipino goods on Aug. 1 unless the two sides can strike a deal.

“I intend to convey to President Trump and his Cabinet officials that the Philippines is ready to negotiate a bilateral trade deal that will ensure strong, mutually beneficial and future-oriented collaborations that only the United States and the Philippines will be able to take advantage of,” Marcos said Sunday when he was departing for Washington, according to his office.

Manila is open to offering zero tariffs on some U.S. goods to strike a deal with Trump, finance chief Ralph Recto told local journalists.

The White House said ahead of the meeting that Trump would discuss with Marcos the shared commitment to upholding a free, open, prosperous and secure Indo-Pacific.

Before a meeting with Marcos at the Pentagon, Hegseth reiterated America’s commitment to “achieving peace through strength” in the region.

“Our storied alliance has never been stronger or more essential than it is today, and together we remain committed to the mutual defense treaty,” Hegseth said Monday. “And this pact extends to armed attacks on our armed forces, aircraft or public vessels, including our Coast Guard anywhere in the Pacific, including the South China Sea.”

Marcos, whose country is one of the oldest U.S. treaty allies in the Pacific region, told Hegseth that the assurance to come to each other’s mutual defense “continues to be the cornerstone of that relationship, especially when it comes to defense and security cooperation.”

He said the cooperation has deepened since Hegseth’s March visit to Manila, including joint exercises and U.S. support in modernizing the Philippines’ armed forces. Marcos thanked the U.S. for support “that we need in the face of the threats that we, our country, is facing.”

China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have been involved in long-unresolved territorial conflicts in the South China Sea, a busy shipping passage for global trade.

The Chinese coast guard has repeatedly used water cannon to hit Filipino boats in the South China Sea. China accused those vessels of entering the waters illegally or encroaching on its territory.

Hegseth told a security forum in Singapore in May that China poses a threat and the U.S. is “reorienting toward deterring aggression by Communist China.”

During Marcos’ meeting Monday with Rubio, the two reaffirmed the alliance “to maintain peace and stability” in the region and discussed closer economic ties, including boosting supply chains, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

The U.S. has endeavored to keep communication open with Beijing. Rubio and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met this month on the sidelines of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional forum in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They agreed to explore “areas of potential cooperation” and stressed the importance of managing differences.

___

Associated Press writer Chris Megerian contributed to this report.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist,” the latest move by government authorities in their relentless crackdown on dissent.

The bill passed by the lower house, the State Duma, moves to its all-but-certain endorsement in the upper house and then goes to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law.

The legislation punishes what it describes as “deliberately searching for and accessing extremist materials” online. First-time offenders face a fine of up to the equivalent of $64.

The official definition of extremist activity is extremely broad and includes opposition groups like the Anti-Corruption Foundation, created by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the “international LGBT movement.”

It’s not clear how authorities will track down violators. Officials and lawmakers said ordinary internet users won’t be affected and only those who methodically seek outlawed content will be targeted. They didn’t explain how the authorities would differentiate between them.

Some observers have suggested the information would likely come from internet providers or social media platforms, and police also could randomly check the search history of cellphones or computers.

The new legislation also contained a ban on advertising of virtual private network services and fines for VPN resources that fail to comply with government regulations, but stopped short of banning their use. It did list the use of a VPN as an “aggravating circumstance” in case of other violations of the law.

Russians widely use VPN services for access to banned content, but authorities have sought to tighten restrictions, trying to close the loopholes. The state communications watchdog has increasingly used technology to analyze traffic and block specific VPN protocols.

The Russian authorities have ramped their multipronged crackdown on dissent after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, online censorship and prosecutions for social media posts and comments have soared. Multiple independent news outlets and rights groups have been shut down, labeled as “foreign agents” or outlawed as “undesirable.” Hundreds of activists and critics of the Kremlin have faced criminal charges.

The new legislation has sparked broad public criticism. The Duma, which unanimously supports most government initiatives, was markedly divided in Tuesday’s vote, with 306 backing the measure, 67 voting against it and 22 abstaining. Among those who opposed the bill were some members of the Communist Party, Just Russia and the liberal New People party who usually follow the Kremlin’s wishes.

Liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin, who sought to challenge Putin in last year’s presidential election but was denied a spot on the ballot, told reporters outside the State Duma that he opposed the new legislation. “It creates real problems for tens of millions of people,” he said.

Nadezhdin’s aide, Dmitry Kisiev, who picketed the parliament building with a poster likening the legislation to the world of George Orwell’s dystopian “1984,” was quickly rounded up by police, who also detained several reporters covering the protest.

Even some pro-Kremlin figures have criticized the bill, arguing it would make it impossible for them to track down and deflect comments by Kremlin critics.

Margarita Simonyan, head of the state-funded RT channel, has spoken against the legislation, questioning how her media group could “investigate and bring to shame” anti-Kremlin outlets “if we are forbidden to even read them.”

And Yekaterina Mizulina, whose group Safe Internet League has frequently reported dissenters to authorities, also strongly condemned the new bill, arguing it would make it impossible for her group to monitor “extremist communities” on the web.

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian lawmakers on Tuesday approved a bill that punishes online searches for information that is deemed “extremist,” the latest move by government authorities in their relentless crackdown on dissent.

The bill passed by the lower house, the State Duma, moves to its all-but-certain endorsement in the upper house and then goes to President Vladimir Putin to be signed into law.

The legislation punishes what it describes as “deliberately searching for and accessing extremist materials” online. First-time offenders face a fine of up to the equivalent of $64.

The official definition of extremist activity is extremely broad and includes opposition groups like the Anti-Corruption Foundation, created by the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, and the “international LGBT movement.”

It’s not clear how authorities will track down violators. Officials and lawmakers said ordinary internet users won’t be affected and only those who methodically seek outlawed content will be targeted. They didn’t explain how the authorities would differentiate between them.

Some observers have suggested the information would likely come from internet providers or social media platforms, and police also could randomly check the search history of cellphones or computers.

The new legislation also contained a ban on advertising of virtual private network services and fines for VPN resources that fail to comply with government regulations, but stopped short of banning their use. It did list the use of a VPN as an “aggravating circumstance” in case of other violations of the law.

Russians widely use VPN services for access to banned content, but authorities have sought to tighten restrictions, trying to close the loopholes. The state communications watchdog has increasingly used technology to analyze traffic and block specific VPN protocols.

The Russian authorities have ramped their multipronged crackdown on dissent after sending troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Since then, online censorship and prosecutions for social media posts and comments have soared. Multiple independent news outlets and rights groups have been shut down, labeled as “foreign agents” or outlawed as “undesirable.” Hundreds of activists and critics of the Kremlin have faced criminal charges.

The new legislation has sparked broad public criticism. The Duma, which unanimously supports most government initiatives, was markedly divided in Tuesday’s vote, with 306 backing the measure, 67 voting against it and 22 abstaining. Among those who opposed the bill were some members of the Communist Party, Just Russia and the liberal New People party who usually follow the Kremlin’s wishes.

Liberal politician Boris Nadezhdin, who sought to challenge Putin in last year’s presidential election but was denied a spot on the ballot, told reporters outside the State Duma that he opposed the new legislation. “It creates real problems for tens of millions of people,” he said.

Nadezhdin’s aide, Dmitry Kisiev, who picketed the parliament building with a poster likening the legislation to the world of George Orwell’s dystopian “1984,” was quickly rounded up by police, who also detained several reporters covering the protest.

Even some pro-Kremlin figures have criticized the bill, arguing it would make it impossible for them to track down and deflect comments by Kremlin critics.

Margarita Simonyan, head of the state-funded RT channel, has spoken against the legislation, questioning how her media group could “investigate and bring to shame” anti-Kremlin outlets “if we are forbidden to even read them.”

And Yekaterina Mizulina, whose group Safe Internet League has frequently reported dissenters to authorities, also strongly condemned the new bill, arguing it would make it impossible for her group to monitor “extremist communities” on the web.

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 kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises.”

Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort.

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. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school.

The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry.

The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it.

“We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented civilian applications. It’s a children’s program … A project must always have a dual purpose, especially when you’re a school student. It’s an unwritten rule I’ve observed at every competition,” said one.

While small FPV [first-person view] drones are the deadliest weapon on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine have also used long-range drones to hit targets far in the rear. Russia sends nightly barrages of kamikaze drones into Ukraine, regularly terrorising the capital, Kyiv, and other big cities.

Children are also involved in the production of these larger drones. Over the weekend, a documentary broadcast by the Russian army’s television station showed teenagers helping to construct kamikaze drones at a factory described as the world’s biggest maker of strike drones.

Employing children in military facilities, which could be legitimately targeted in wartime, violates numerous international conventions.

The footage shown on Sunday showed hundreds of completed Geran-2 kamikaze drones in neat rows. The facility has been put on an EU sanctions list and has come under attack itself from Ukrainian long-range drones.

The Geran-2, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, is an adapted version of an Iranian kamikaze drone, with production now localised in Russia at a factory in Alabuga in Tatarstan. Moscow claims it uses these drones only to target military and energy infrastructure but there are regular cases of them hitting civilian and residential targets.

Russia’s state-run Zvezda TV channel said the Alabuga factory had invited 14- and 15-year-old pupils to study drone manufacturing at an adjacent college and subsequently work at the factory. Young workers were shown in the footage with their faces blurred, sitting at computers or assembling drones.

Children contacted by the Insider also spoke of working inside military facilities: one explained how, aged 13, he had trained soldiers in drone operations inside a state facility in 2022.

The correspondents posed as reporters from state-controlled media outlets. Independent journalism has essentially been outlawed in Russia since the state of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with most of those still working forced into exile.

By posing as state-controlled journalists still in the country, the reporters hoped their interviewees would feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information with them.

Quick Guide

Contact us about this story

Show

The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.

If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.

If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.

SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post

See our guide at theguardian.com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. 

Illustration: Guardian Design / Rich Cousins

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 kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises.”

Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort.

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. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school.

The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry.

The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it.

“We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented civilian applications. It’s a children’s program … A project must always have a dual purpose, especially when you’re a school student. It’s an unwritten rule I’ve observed at every competition,” said one.

While small FPV [first-person view] drones are the deadliest weapon on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine have also used long-range drones to hit targets far in the rear. Russia sends nightly barrages of kamikaze drones into Ukraine, regularly terrorising the capital, Kyiv, and other big cities.

Children are also involved in the production of these larger drones. Over the weekend, a documentary broadcast by the Russian army’s television station showed teenagers helping to construct kamikaze drones at a factory described as the world’s biggest maker of strike drones.

Employing children in military facilities, which could be legitimately targeted in wartime, violates numerous international conventions.

The footage shown on Sunday showed hundreds of completed Geran-2 kamikaze drones in neat rows. The facility has been put on an EU sanctions list and has come under attack itself from Ukrainian long-range drones.

The Geran-2, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, is an adapted version of an Iranian kamikaze drone, with production now localised in Russia at a factory in Alabuga in Tatarstan. Moscow claims it uses these drones only to target military and energy infrastructure but there are regular cases of them hitting civilian and residential targets.

Russia’s state-run Zvezda TV channel said the Alabuga factory had invited 14- and 15-year-old pupils to study drone manufacturing at an adjacent college and subsequently work at the factory. Young workers were shown in the footage with their faces blurred, sitting at computers or assembling drones.

Children contacted by the Insider also spoke of working inside military facilities: one explained how, aged 13, he had trained soldiers in drone operations inside a state facility in 2022.

The correspondents posed as reporters from state-controlled media outlets. Independent journalism has essentially been outlawed in Russia since the state of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with most of those still working forced into exile.

By posing as state-controlled journalists still in the country, the reporters hoped their interviewees would feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information with them.

Quick Guide

Contact us about this story

Show

The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.

If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.

If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.

SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post

See our guide at theguardian.com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. 

Illustration: Guardian Design / Rich Cousins

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 kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises.”

Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort.

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. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school.

The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry.

The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it.

“We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented civilian applications. It’s a children’s program … A project must always have a dual purpose, especially when you’re a school student. It’s an unwritten rule I’ve observed at every competition,” said one.

While small FPV [first-person view] drones are the deadliest weapon on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine have also used long-range drones to hit targets far in the rear. Russia sends nightly barrages of kamikaze drones into Ukraine, regularly terrorising the capital, Kyiv, and other big cities.

Children are also involved in the production of these larger drones. Over the weekend, a documentary broadcast by the Russian army’s television station showed teenagers helping to construct kamikaze drones at a factory described as the world’s biggest maker of strike drones.

Employing children in military facilities, which could be legitimately targeted in wartime, violates numerous international conventions.

The footage shown on Sunday showed hundreds of completed Geran-2 kamikaze drones in neat rows. The facility has been put on an EU sanctions list and has come under attack itself from Ukrainian long-range drones.

The Geran-2, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, is an adapted version of an Iranian kamikaze drone, with production now localised in Russia at a factory in Alabuga in Tatarstan. Moscow claims it uses these drones only to target military and energy infrastructure but there are regular cases of them hitting civilian and residential targets.

Russia’s state-run Zvezda TV channel said the Alabuga factory had invited 14- and 15-year-old pupils to study drone manufacturing at an adjacent college and subsequently work at the factory. Young workers were shown in the footage with their faces blurred, sitting at computers or assembling drones.

Children contacted by the Insider also spoke of working inside military facilities: one explained how, aged 13, he had trained soldiers in drone operations inside a state facility in 2022.

The correspondents posed as reporters from state-controlled media outlets. Independent journalism has essentially been outlawed in Russia since the state of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with most of those still working forced into exile.

By posing as state-controlled journalists still in the country, the reporters hoped their interviewees would feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information with them.

Quick Guide

Contact us about this story

Show

The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.

If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.

If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.

SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post

See our guide at theguardian.com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. 

Illustration: Guardian Design / Rich Cousins

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 kids are actively involved in modelling components of systems for various drones,” one of the teenagers involved told a journalist. “I know of several people at least who were modelling UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] components for major enterprises.”

Vladimir Putin has called for Russia to boost its production of drones, which have increasingly become a key part of the war for Russia and Ukraine. But the drone battle on the frontlines is constantly changing as both sides discover new technologies to enable drones to fly further and evade electronic jamming systems, and Russia is seeking the smartest tech prodigies among its youth to help with the effort.

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. Succeeding in the game, which is played by hundreds of thousands of young Russians, can lead to extra credits in exams at the end of high school.

The most successful players move into more advanced competitions, such as one called Big Challenges, which looks for promising school pupils to be headhunted by Russian companies, many of which are under international sanctions for their roles in the Russian defence industry.

The Insider spoke with three teenage finalists from the competition working on drone technology, who explained how it worked and detailed how they were fully aware of the military application of certain projects but were encouraged to hide it.

“We were forbidden to say that it was needed for the war, and we invented civilian applications. It’s a children’s program … A project must always have a dual purpose, especially when you’re a school student. It’s an unwritten rule I’ve observed at every competition,” said one.

While small FPV [first-person view] drones are the deadliest weapon on the frontlines, Russia and Ukraine have also used long-range drones to hit targets far in the rear. Russia sends nightly barrages of kamikaze drones into Ukraine, regularly terrorising the capital, Kyiv, and other big cities.

Children are also involved in the production of these larger drones. Over the weekend, a documentary broadcast by the Russian army’s television station showed teenagers helping to construct kamikaze drones at a factory described as the world’s biggest maker of strike drones.

Employing children in military facilities, which could be legitimately targeted in wartime, violates numerous international conventions.

The footage shown on Sunday showed hundreds of completed Geran-2 kamikaze drones in neat rows. The facility has been put on an EU sanctions list and has come under attack itself from Ukrainian long-range drones.

The Geran-2, which has a range of nearly 1,000 miles, is an adapted version of an Iranian kamikaze drone, with production now localised in Russia at a factory in Alabuga in Tatarstan. Moscow claims it uses these drones only to target military and energy infrastructure but there are regular cases of them hitting civilian and residential targets.

Russia’s state-run Zvezda TV channel said the Alabuga factory had invited 14- and 15-year-old pupils to study drone manufacturing at an adjacent college and subsequently work at the factory. Young workers were shown in the footage with their faces blurred, sitting at computers or assembling drones.

Children contacted by the Insider also spoke of working inside military facilities: one explained how, aged 13, he had trained soldiers in drone operations inside a state facility in 2022.

The correspondents posed as reporters from state-controlled media outlets. Independent journalism has essentially been outlawed in Russia since the state of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, with most of those still working forced into exile.

By posing as state-controlled journalists still in the country, the reporters hoped their interviewees would feel more comfortable sharing sensitive information with them.

Quick Guide

Contact us about this story

Show

The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.

If you have something to share on this subject you can contact us confidentially using the following methods.

Secure Messaging in the Guardian app

The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.

If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS/Android) and go to the menu. Select ‘Secure Messaging’.

SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post

See our guide at theguardian.com/tips for alternative methods and the pros and cons of each. 

Illustration: Guardian Design / Rich Cousins