A group of Russian children have been sharpening their shooting skills by using photos of President Joe Biden, his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymr Zelensky and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg for target practice.
Russian government-controlled newspaper Argumenty I Fakti (Argument and facts) reported on how the images of the world leaders had been set up at a small indoor shooting range at a technical school in the Siberian city of Tomsk, around 1,800 miles east of Moscow, on Saturday, December 2.
Ukrainian internal affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko posted a short video in which the pop of guns being fired by children a few feet away from the portraits can be heard, although it is not clear what is being used as ammunition.
Gerashchenko wrote how in Russia, "children 'learn patriotism' while shooting at Biden, Zelensky and Stoltenberg."
The shooting practice was among the events of the second annual "Peaceful Warrior of the Russian Federation" festival held at the Tomsk Communal and Construction College.
It was organized by the group Boeviy Listok Za Nashikh, which means "Battle Pamphlet: our Guys," with the Z written in a way to signify the military symbol of Russian forces fighting in Ukraine. Its VK social media page described the event in a post titled "Russia is a great power."
"What is especially important is to instill in the younger generation the concepts of patriotism, love of the Motherland (and) the preservation of our history and Russian traditions," the post said to its more than 900,000 followers.
The post said that among those attending were members of the Wagner mercenary group, the Tomsk Maritime Brotherhood, the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany, the region's Council of Veterans and the People's Front of the Tomsk Region.
In Russia, children "learn patriotism" while shooting at Biden, Zelenskyy and Stoltenberg.
— Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) December 5, 2023
A festival called "Peaceful Warrior of the Russian Federation" was held in the Russian city of Tomsk. At one of the locations, a shooting range was set up for children, where instead of… pic.twitter.com/c55YStNBN5
There were also representatives from Russia's Ministry of Emergency Situations, internal security force the Russian Guard, as well as "Cossacks and creative collectives."
The event saw a concert and reenactments of military events in which attendees showed "unity with the current heroes—the defenders of the Northern Military District," who are fighting in Vladimir Putin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
"Pride in their Fatherland—this is what remains in everyone's heart after the festival," the organizers said in the post.
Images on the social media page show attendees in folkloric costumes posing next to men in military fatigues, some with their faces covered. A table shows what appear to be soldiers holding weapons. Newsweek has contacted Boeviy Listok Za Nashikh for further comment.
On the day of the festival, Stoltenberg told German broadcaster ARD how Ukraine was in a "critical situation" and he said it was important to support Kyiv "in both good and bad times."
Zelensky is scheduled to appeal to U.S. senators on Tuesday to agree to more support amid warnings from the Biden administration that money and time to fight Russia is running out.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London, UK. His focus is Russia and Ukraine, in particular ... Read more
