Putin Hardens Sabotage Penalties, Targets Teenagers from 14 Up

Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin signed a law on Monday that toughens penalties for inciting children to commit acts of sabotage and lowers the age of criminal liability for such acts from 16 to 14.

Russia’s State Duma passed the bill in October amid rising cases of youth-instigated sabotage against military targets that signal growing dissent against Moscow’s war in Ukraine.

Under the new law, those who incite children to commit acts of sabotage can now face life imprisonment, while the age of criminal liability for committing such acts has been lowered to 14, according to Russian state media RIA Novosti.

In addition, the law removes the statute of limitations and bans suspended sentences for anyone involved in a subversive organization, while those serving prison terms for sabotage are now only eligible for parole after serving three-quarters of their sentence.

Before Putin signed the new law, Russia’s sentence for carrying out such acts was 10 years’ imprisonment, and eight years for conspiracy or planning.

Vyacheslav Volodin, Duma Speaker and close associate of Putin, previously said the law is needed “to protect Russian national security.”

Russia has long accused Ukrainian intelligence of enticing teenagers to commit sabotage acts via monetary rewards.

In October, a 12-year-old girl in a Baltic port city was reportedly caught trying to burn a military telecom box after being offered 300,000 rubles ($3,690) via Telegram. In September, a 16-year-old boy in Novorossiysk was arrested with explosives for planning to attack a local military building, allegedly recruited and promised payment by Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU).

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German news outlet DW noted in 2024 that sabotage cases in Russia have been recorded and are on the rise since the onset of Moscow’s 2022 invasion.

At the same time, the SBU has also accused Russian intelligence of staging similar acts inside Ukraine, including misleading teenagers to carry out suicide bombings in various cities across the country.