He appears dressed in military-style camouflage and a red beret, a Ukrainian teenager praising Russian soldiers for their courage and pledging loyalty to Vladimir Putin.
asserted
He → appear → Putin
"We made our historic choice to be together with Russia," he says in one video.
asserted
he → make → video
"I don't give a f*** what they think about me back in Ukraine," he says in another.
asserted
he → give → another
For a time, Denys Kostev was the poster boy for Russia, appearing in multiple video clips as the young, charismatic face of Moscow's propaganda machine.
asserted
Kostev → appear → machine
Now safely back in Ukraine, he tells Foreign Correspondent how he, like thousands of Ukrainian children, was systematically brainwashed and drafted into the Russian military after his Ukrainian town was occupied.
asserted
town → tell → military
"I wouldn't say that on any particular day or month I became pro-Russian.
asserted
I → say → day
It was simply work being done on me since the occupation," he says.
asserted
he → do → occupation
"It's a system that shapes children's minds and ideology over many years.
asserted
that → shape → years
Russia knows how to do this.
asserted
Russia → know → this
They have manuals for it.
asserted
They → have → it
"
'They brainwash you'
asserted
They → brainwash → you
When Russian tanks first rolled into his hometown in 2022, Denys was posting patriotic videos about Ukraine on TikTok and cursing President Vladimir Putin.
asserted
Denys → roll → Putin
He was living in an orphanage in the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson.
asserted
He → live → Kherson
At first, he says, he didn't believe the war had started.
asserted
war → say → ?
Only when a shell landed 500 metres from his bedroom did he realise it was real.
asserted
it → land → bedroom
As the frontline drew closer, Russian soldiers began visiting the orphanage.
asserted
soldiers → draw → orphanage
The centre's director feared for their safety, as children had already been taken from other orphanages across Ukraine's occupied territories.
asserted
children → fear → territories
He asked family and friends to take them in.
asserted
He → ask → them
Denys moved in with his brother and their grandmother, but within a few months, the 16-year-old was moved against his will to a youth camp in Russian-annexed Crimea.
asserted
old → move → Crimea
When he protested, the Russian authorities told him they would send guys with machine guns to his home.
asserted
they → protest → home
"It was mandatory," he says.
asserted
he → say → ?
When the buses arrived, Denys and his friends from the orphanage knew they had no choice.
asserted
they → arrive → choice
They became some of the tens of thousands of Ukrainian children Russia has stolen, deported or forcibly transferred since its full-scale invasion in 2022.
asserted
Russia → become → 2022
What he experienced at the youth camp was chilling.
asserted
experienced → experience → camp
"It was more of an ideological re-education camp," he says.
asserted
he → say → camp
"First, they brainwash you with Russian songs, with some lessons about courage.
asserted
they → brainwash → courage
They tell stories about great military prowess in war.
asserted
They → tell → war
"Ukrainian symbols, Ukrainian music, the Ukrainian language, everything that in principle relates to Ukraine, is [was] forbidden here."
asserted
that → relate → Ukraine
This was the start of Denys's nightmare passage through Russia's system of indoctrination and military training, which took him dangerously close to being enlisted in Moscow's army to fight against his own people.
asserted
which → take → people
"These are not summer camps where kids are playing in the pool or going to the beach," says Paige Farrenkopf, who leads a global team of investigators from Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab tracking children stolen by Russia.
asserted
who → play → Russia
Kids are told that Ukraine no longer exists.
asserted
Ukraine → tell → ?
They are exposing kids to military training, and this is something that has continued to evolve over the last four and a half years."
asserted
that → expose → years
Escape to Ukraine
By winter, Denys was moved back to Russian-occupied Ukraine, which is when he was signed up to Moscow's "Young Army" cadets and the military training started.
asserted
training → move → cadets
"Special forces and other military personnel came.
asserted
forces → come → ?
They taught us how to disassemble and assemble, mostly the Kalashnikov rifle," Denys says.
asserted
Denys → teach → rifle
"They taught us to shoot from different positions, sitting, lying, and standing."
asserted
They → teach → positions
As time went by, Denys started appearing in multiple propaganda videos on pro-Kremlin channels.
asserted
Denys → go → channels
In one, he declared, "we feel the support of our president Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin."
asserted
we → declare → president
His rapid transformation from a Ukrainian patriot to a flag-waving Russian appeared to be a victory for Moscow.
It was valuable ammunition for the Kremlin's propaganda machine, bolstering its narrative that Ukrainian children belong to Russia.
"
asserted
children → wave → Russia
They play on the idea that … 'Ukraine abandoned you, Ukraine doesn't need you, here you are needed.'
asserted
you → play → you
…and 13 more, not listed.
The Aporia
