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Photos: Training kids to kill at Ukrainian nationalist camps

The campers, some clad in combat fatigues, carefully aim their assault rifles. Their instructor offers advice: Don't think of your target as a human being. So when these boys and girls shoot, they will shoot to kill. Most are in their teens, but some are as young as 8 years old. They are at a summer camp created by one of Ukraine's radical nationalist groups, hidden in a forest in the west of the country, that was visited by The Associated Press.

Updated on: Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM IST

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1/11

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, organised by the nationalist Svoboda party, sit inside a tent with their AK-47 riffles as they receive instructions during a tactical exercise in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. The camp has two purposes: to train children to defend their country ... and to spread nationalist ideology. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, organised by the nationalist Svoboda party, sit inside a tent with their AK-47 riffles as they receive instructions during a tactical exercise in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. The camp has two purposes: to train children to defend their country ... and to spread nationalist ideology. (Felipe Dana / AP)

2/11

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, walk to a campsite in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. Most were in their teens, but some were as young as 8 years old. They gathered at a summer camp created by one of Ukraine’s radical nationalist groups, hidden in a forest in the west of the country. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, walk to a campsite in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. Most were in their teens, but some were as young as 8 years old. They gathered at a summer camp created by one of Ukraine’s radical nationalist groups, hidden in a forest in the west of the country. (Felipe Dana / AP)

3/11

A young participant grabs his AK-47 during a tactical exercise in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. “We never aim guns at people,” instructor Yuri “Chornota” Cherkashin told campers. “But we don't count separatists, little green men, occupiers from Moscow as people, so we can and should aim at them.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

A young participant grabs his AK-47 during a tactical exercise in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. “We never aim guns at people,” instructor Yuri “Chornota” Cherkashin told campers. “But we don't count separatists, little green men, occupiers from Moscow as people, so we can and should aim at them.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

4/11

The nationalists have been accused of violence and racism, but they have played a central, volunteer role in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia — maintaining links with the government. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports earmarked 4 million hryvnias (about $150,000) to fund some of the youth camps among the dozens built by the nationalists. The purpose, according to the ministry, is “national patriotic education.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

The nationalists have been accused of violence and racism, but they have played a central, volunteer role in Ukraine’s conflict with Russia — maintaining links with the government. Earlier this year, the Ministry of Youth and Sports earmarked 4 million hryvnias (about $150,000) to fund some of the youth camps among the dozens built by the nationalists. The purpose, according to the ministry, is “national patriotic education.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

5/11

Cherkashin is a veteran of the fight against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine; he was wounded in combat and later came to lead Sokil, or Falcon, the youth wing of the Svoboda party. It is important, he said, to inculcate the nation’s youth with nationalist thought, so they can battle Vladimir Putin’s Russia as well as “challenges that could completely destroy” European civilization. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Cherkashin is a veteran of the fight against pro-Russia separatists in eastern Ukraine; he was wounded in combat and later came to lead Sokil, or Falcon, the youth wing of the Svoboda party. It is important, he said, to inculcate the nation’s youth with nationalist thought, so they can battle Vladimir Putin’s Russia as well as “challenges that could completely destroy” European civilization. (Felipe Dana / AP)

6/11

Among those challenges: LGBT rights, which lecturers denounced as a sign of Western decadence. “You need to be aware of all that,” said instructor Ruslan Andreiko. “All those gender things, all those perversions of modern Bolsheviks who have come to power in Europe and now try to make all those LGBT things like gay pride parades part of the education system.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Among those challenges: LGBT rights, which lecturers denounced as a sign of Western decadence. “You need to be aware of all that,” said instructor Ruslan Andreiko. “All those gender things, all those perversions of modern Bolsheviks who have come to power in Europe and now try to make all those LGBT things like gay pride parades part of the education system.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

7/11

While some youths dozed off during lectures, others paid attention. Clearly, some were receptive. During a break in training, a teenager played a nationalist march on his guitar. It was decorated with a sticker showing white bombs hitting a mosque, under the motto, “White Europe is Our Goal.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

While some youths dozed off during lectures, others paid attention. Clearly, some were receptive. During a break in training, a teenager played a nationalist march on his guitar. It was decorated with a sticker showing white bombs hitting a mosque, under the motto, “White Europe is Our Goal.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

8/11

Aside from the lectures — and songs around the campfire — life for the several dozen youths at the Svoboda camp was hard. Campers were awakened in the middle of the night with a blast from a stun grenade. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Aside from the lectures — and songs around the campfire — life for the several dozen youths at the Svoboda camp was hard. Campers were awakened in the middle of the night with a blast from a stun grenade. (Felipe Dana / AP)

9/11

A participant adjusts his AK-47 riffle after bathing in a river during the “Temper of will” summer camp. At 18, he was the oldest of the campers. “Every moment things can go wrong in our country. And one has to be ready for it,” he said. “That's why I came to this camp. To study how to protect myself and my loved ones.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

A participant adjusts his AK-47 riffle after bathing in a river during the “Temper of will” summer camp. At 18, he was the oldest of the campers. “Every moment things can go wrong in our country. And one has to be ready for it,” he said. “That's why I came to this camp. To study how to protect myself and my loved ones.” (Felipe Dana / AP)

10/11

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, gather in-between exercises in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Young participants of the “Temper of will” summer camp, gather in-between exercises in a village near Ternopil, Ukraine. (Felipe Dana / AP)

11/11

Stumbling out of their tents, soldiers in training struggled to hold AK-47s that were, in some cases, almost as tall as they were. They were required to carry the heavy rifles all day, and one of the girls broke down in tears from exhaustion. (Felipe Dana / AP)

Updated on Nov 23, 2018 2:51 PM

Stumbling out of their tents, soldiers in training struggled to hold AK-47s that were, in some cases, almost as tall as they were. They were required to carry the heavy rifles all day, and one of the girls broke down in tears from exhaustion. (Felipe Dana / AP)

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