Russians often send their fellow citizens to the occupied territories of Ukraine to engage in propaganda and militarize Ukrainian children. One of those involved in this process in the occupied part of Kherson Region is Serafim Ivanov, a Russian citizen. This is reported by the Kherson Region media outlet Vhoru (Up).

He arrived in Kherson together with Russian propagandist Oleksandr Malkevych, who organized occupation television not only in Kherson (Tavria), but also in Melitopol (Za TV) and in the Donetsk region (Mariupol 24). The latter calls Ivanov an “information-patriotic driver” and an “information guard”.

Initially, Ivanov was appointed as the head of the public relations and promotion department at the TV and radio company “Tavria”. Later, in early November 2022, Ivanov claimed that based on this company, a branch of the “Youth Army”, which he subsequently led, was established. In addition, Ivanov serves as the head of the local branch of the Russian “educational” organization Knowledge in the occupied Kherson region. He is also a member of the fictitious Public Election Observation Headquarters and the Public Chamber in the occupied Kherson region.

On the eve of the liberation of Kherson by Ukrainian troops in November 2022, Ivanov fled to the left bank of the Dnipro river, where he continued to engage in the militarization of Ukrainian children and their propaganda processing.

In addition to promoting the “Great Patriotic War” and its symbols, such as the red flag, Ivanov conducts “courage lessons”, in which children undergo military training. The goal of these classes is to make Ukrainian children “defenders of the Fatherland-Russia”. It can be argued that this is preparation for the recruitment of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories into the Russian army. At the same time, such actions are prohibited by the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War: “Any pressure or propaganda aimed at ensuring voluntary enlistment in military service is prohibited”.

It is for such activities that Western countries have imposed sanctions on Serafim Ivanov. In addition, according to the GUR portal, Ivanov is involved in the transfer of Ukrainian children from the occupied territories of Ukraine to Russia under the pretext of “rehabilitation, rest and education”.