Ukraine warns teenagers the enemy is inside their phones

A lecturer from the Security Service of Ukraine, known as the SBU, leads a presentation for 10th-grade students at a high school in Lviv, in western Ukraine, on May 14, 2025, on Russian schemes that try to recruit young people for minor sabotage or espionage. Ukraine’s security service is holding classes at high schools to alert teenagers of Russian efforts to recruit them. — BRENDAN HOFFMAN/The New York Times

LVIV, Ukraine: The man wore a khaki uniform, a baseball cap and a camouflage ski mask, heightening the drama in the high school classroom. Because he worked as an intelligence officer, he did not disclose his name, creating even more mystery.

His presentation started with a video showing a stack of US$100 bills on a mousetrap with a red skull and crossbones. “How not to fall into the trap of Russian intelligence services,” the video advised.