Russia stages children’s military parade in Vladivostok, with North Korean students in attendance

A military parade featuring young schoolchildren was held in Vladivostok, in Russia’s Far East, according to Oleg Kozhemyako, the governor of Primorsky Krai.

More than 1,500 elementary school students from across the region, dressed in military uniforms, took part in what Kozhemyako described as the “first children’s parade.” Veterans of the war in Ukraine led the procession.

“Today, among those marching are children whose fathers are fighting on the front lines,” Kozhemyako said at the parade’s opening. “We are justly proud of the courage and bravery of our soldiers, and we know that, as in 1945, the enemy will be defeated and victory will be ours.”

North Korean schoolchildren were also in attendance. Commenting on their presence, Kozhemyako claimed that North Korean troops had “taken an active part in the defeat of Ukrainian militants in the Kursk region.”

Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, children — including those in the early primary grades — have been increasingly drawn into state-sponsored “patriotic” initiatives. These have included marches in military dress, though such events are usually organized at the level of individual towns or schools rather than entire regions.