A senior Russian lawmaker has proposed introducing compulsory military training for children starting in fifth grade, arguing that Russia must prepare its youth for a possible conflict with NATO and the EU by 2030. The proposition came from the First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Viktor Vodolatsky, in comments to Russian outlet Absatz. Vodolatsky said basic military training, currently offered only to 10th and 11th graders under the course “Fundamentals of Security and Defense of the Motherland,” should be extended downward and made universal.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official. “From fifth grade, just as in cadet corps, disciplines must be taught that will allow girls and boys to be ready for any external challenges,” Vodolatsky said, adding that Russia must prepare its youth “to defend the Fatherland, to defend their homeland and their families.” Russia’s response to threats is “inevitable” “Let them prepare, but the outcome is inevitable,” the Chairman of the State Duma said, citing 2030 as a “relevant milestone” for Russia to attack NATO. The proposal builds on a military education framework that was revived and expanded following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Currently, upper-grade students receive instructions in drill formations, wartime first aid, grenade handling and group tactics, while schools across Russia have been directed to install shooting ranges, alongside radiation and chemical reconnaissance labs.