US Department of State: Donbas militants recruit children

"There were reports that children aged 15 to 17 were actively being recruited to participate in militarized youth groups that teach children to carry and use weapons. Children who excel in this training were encouraged to form their own reconnaissance and sabotage groups and begin to fight," the report reads. In addition, as the US Department of State reports, militants recruit even 12-year-olds, whose participation was seen in the separatist “St. George the Victor Battalion.” The report also notes that Russian-backed militants use minors as "human shields and informants." In general, as noted in the report, 1.8 million people have become internally displaced due to the fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region. According to the agency, the Government of Ukraine does not fully comply with the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking but "makes significant efforts to do so."