's ‘Putin Youth’ website was hacked today and plastered with chilling messages ordering to "kill" the Russian dictator.
A picture appeared on the site for his 1.6 million-strong young army showing the ruler and a young boy, with a thought bubble from Putin referring to his cannon fodder war dead saying: "Wrap this one up in a [black funeral] bag, too."
A seperate message referred to his Yunarmia - likened to the Youth and seen as a key tool in militarising and indoctrinating children in . The message warned about the risk of being sent to the war. It read: "Yunarmiya - your best, short future."
Hackers also appeared to hint at compensation for women whose spouses were killed in Putin’s war, amid reports that 600,000-plus are thought to have been killed or maimed. It read: "Russian Army: Trade your brat [of a husband] for a home-made Lada." Below the images on the hacked collage were the words: "KILL PUTIN".
The picture of the boy on Red Square dates from 2006 and was controversial because Putin kissed him, seen as strange behaviour at the time. The boy grew up to become an army cadet. The hack came ahead of Russia’s National Unity Day, designated as the Day of Military Glory of Russia.
Senior Yunarmia official Viktor Kaurov confirmed the hack, and appeared to blame . “Attacks are being carried out not only on the website, but also through foreign media, including Ukrainian resources, aimed at spreading lies about the Yunarmia movement, its activities and values,” he said.
The junior army force, for children aged eight to 18, was set up in 2015 to keep children “out of trouble” while indoctrinating them in militarism and patriotism.
Last year, a masked member of Putin’s youth army went on a rampage at a school, . The 15-year-old suspect reportedly wounded three school staff and the relative of a student.
The boy, named as Grigory Belyaev, claimed he had seen Ukrainians and Poles and was "scared" before the attack at the school he attends. He was masked as Anonymous or Guy Fawkes and used his grandmother’s kitchen knife in the attack, said law enforcement.
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