A senior Russian lawmaker has proposed introducing compulsory military training for children starting in fifth grade, arguing that Russia must prepare its youth for a possible conflict with NATO and the EU by 2030.
The proposition came from the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Viktor Vodolatsky, in comments to Russian outlet Absatz. Vodolatsky said basic military training, currently offered only to 10th and 11th graders under the course “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland,” should be extended downward and made universal.
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“From fifth grade, just as in cadet corps, disciplines must be taught that will allow girls and boys to be ready for any external challenges,” Vodolatsky said, adding that Russia must prepare its youth “to defend the Fatherland, to defend their homeland and their families.”
Russia’s response to threats is “inevitable”
“Let them prepare, but the outcome is inevitable,” the Chairman of the State Duma said, citing 2030 as a “relevant milestone” for Russia to attack NATO.
The proposal builds on a military education framework that was revived and expanded following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Currently, upper-grade students receive instructions in drill formations, wartime first aid, grenade handling and group tactics, while schools across Russia have been directed to install shooting ranges, alongside radiation and chemical reconnaissance labs.
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Children as young as seven participate in the military-patriotic game “Zarnitsa 2.0,” where they are trained in roles including drone operator, assault trooper, combat medic and political officer.
Reportedly, they practice escaping captivity, countering enemy hackers and storming positions, as well as train with injury simulation mannequins.
“We will again, as before, destroy any enemy that uses the weapons they are currently testing in Ukraine,” Vodolatsky said, adding that Russia is ready “today, right now” to defend its sovereignty and national security, using the weapons it currently has – “weapons the West won’t have for several more decades.”
NATO countries continuously warn Russia could attack in the next few years
Sweden’s parliamentary defense commission said that Russia could move to test NATO’s collective defense through military action in the near future if it judges political conditions favorable, a concern echoed by Germany’s defense minister Boris Pistorius, who warned that Moscow may be capable of attacking a NATO member as early as 2028-29.
Sweden’s military intelligence service recently concluded on June 12, that Moscow already has the capacity to attack, as significant elements of Russia’s armed forces remain largely unaffected by the war, including its air and naval forces, long-range strike capabilities, and hybrid warfare assets.
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